


Facilis Descensus Averno

by LittleTurtle95



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: AU mashup, Alec Lightwood Is So Done, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Demons, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Blood and Torture, But only Jace, Cockblock Jace Wayland, Does It Even Exist, Everybody has father issues in this, F/M, Father issues, Gay Disaster Alec Lightwood, Gay Panic, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Like literally everybody, M/M, Magnus Bane Is Quite Magical, Major Character Injury, Protective Siblings, Secret Identity, Sibling Bonding, Superheroes, Supportive Jace Wayland, Well I Guess It Does Now, Wing Grooming, Winged Jace Wayland, Wingfic, platonic wing grooming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:00:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 40,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24231751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleTurtle95/pseuds/LittleTurtle95
Summary: (The Descent into Hell is Easy)This really isn't a good time for Magnus Bane.He doesn't enjoy his job anymore; his intern Santiago doesn't get shit done; he doesn't sleep at night because he has to protect the city from supervillains and occasional demon attacks; and last but not least the rate of demonic activities in New York City has been highest than ever.The only two good things that happened to him lately are the cute owner of the neighborhood coffee shop that sometimes flirts back, and his new superhero super grumpy super handsome friend he met on patrol.What could go wrong?
Relationships: Alec Lightwood & Jace Wayland, Clary Fray/Jace Wayland, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 74
Kudos: 126





	1. When the shadows whisper you have to listen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What happens when I’m undecided between a coffee shop AU and a superhero AU?  
> This. This happens.
> 
> The work is already finished, I'll post a new chapter every day, maybe two sometimes if I have enough time to proof read everything.
> 
> TV Show!verse because I think the aesthetic and character personalities fit the superhero AU more, but there will be book references if you squint. Except for Raphael Santiago, because book!Raphael is the only Raphael I accept in canon and you can't change my mind.
> 
> T-rated because of language, occasional not too graphic violence and the homophobic asses of Robert and Maryse Lightwood.

Magnus Bane loved mornings. He cherished them, he spent the whole day working hard and keeping on only looking forward the next morning.

It wasn’t like he was a morning person, quite the opposite actually, if there was something he liked more than partying it was sleeping, but if there was something he liked even more than sleeping now, that was Alexander.

Alexander was one of the two guys that owned _Idris_ , the coffee shop down the street, just one block away from his workplace. It was small but welcoming, never crowded yet never cold and empty, the caramel latte was always exactly how he wanted it and, most of all, one of the owners was the most gorgeous, kind, awkward yet charming guy Magnus had ever set his eyes on.

He used to show up really early to have some quick breakfast and to spend approximately one hour sitting at one of the tables checking emails, sipping from his warm cup (and if he kept it warm with a bit of magic nobody needed to know), and flirting moderately with Alexander before he had to leave for work.

Every day except for sundays, that was his routine. Morning at the coffee shop, the day running his company, and the early hours of the night keeping bad guys off the streets with his superpowers.

Average day for a not so average person.

That morning he was feeling particularly tired. The night before he had to send a few demons back to their infernal dimension, and after he was finished he had to carry on with his research. In the last few months demonic activities in New York City had severely increased and he knew it could be no accident. There had to be someone behind it and he needed to find them before the situation got out of control.

He already had a few suspects and was currently working on it. He muffled a yawn as he replied to a petty email he just got from his intern, Raphael, when he saw someone approaching at the corner of his eye. 

He flinched and turned his head, ready to face whatever danger was coming, feeling his magic bubble up like electricity on his fingertips but as soon as he saw the man facing him he immediately relaxed.

“Sorry, I… did I scare you?” a young man was looking at him with a small smile with a touch of worry, a paper bag in his hand, his hazel eyes blinking in surprise.

“Alexander!” said Magnus, a wide smile blooming on his lips. “Don’t be sorry, I’m just a bit stressed out today, and you caught me off guard.”

In all fairness, Alexander managed quite often to catch him off guard. He could be really silent when he wanted to.

“Nothing too serious, I hope,” the boy said, he sounded genuinely sorry, but with a hint of mischief in his voice.

“Nothing to worry about,” lied Magnus. “What do I owe the pleasure? You are usually secluded behind the counter.” He glanced a look at the queue waiting to be served, where the obnoxious co-owner was making coffees and smiling smugly at the customers.

“Oh, well, it won’t take long,” the man said hesitantly. “It’s just… I noticed you’re particularly tired today so I brought you this. It’s on the house, don’t worry.” 

Magnus accepted the paper bag Alec was giving him with a confused smile. As soon as he opened it, a sweet chocolate scent engulfed him.

“Home made brownies. My brother made them. The customers like them a lot. I wouldn’t know, I don’t really like chocolate.”

“That was… lovely of you. I’m sure they’re delicious, and I was just thinking I was hungry. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, in fact.” 

Alexander smiled back but did not reply. He looked at him for a few moments and it looked like he was going to say something deep, when he shrugged. “I have to… I mean… probably I should…” 

“You should get back to work, yeah. I see your brother is a little overwhelmed.” Magnus graced him, and the thankful look he was thanked with was totally worth it.

“Exactly. Well. See you around I guess.” he muttered and turned fast on his heels and ran back behind the counter. The other guy, the less attractive more annoying guy that ran the shop with Alec was looking at them amused beyond any limit, but Alexander glared at him, shutting him up for the better.

Magnus couldn’t help but smirk giving the first bite to his breakfast. He hummed in appreciation.

 _It is good, indeed._ He thought, not that he had any doubt. Besides, he would have eaten it anyway, it was Alexander’s gift after all.

He felt a warming dizziness growing inside. He had been going to the coffee shop every day for two months now and he was helplessly trying to flirt with Alec since then. The man didn’t seem to take the hint and Magnus was beginning to give up, because maybe he was just a dense straight, _all straights are so dense about flirting I wonder how come they’re not extinct yet,_ he thought bitterly. 

But there were some occasions, some little favours, or quick smiles, the way his face lit up whenever Magnus entered the shop, or when sometimes he caught him staring, that made him keep going. And there were the times when the obnoxious co owner wasn’t at work, when it was his day off and Magnus was the first customer, and it was just the two of them and they talked and talked, and Alexander was happy and revealed himself to be intelligent and quite funny. He liked those days the most.

He was halfway done with his brownies and glanced a quick look at the counter. He found him staring again. They locked eyes for a moment and Alec looked away, startled.

“I don’t know what this man does to you, buddy, but I hope he’s not going to stop. This is the funniest thing ever,” Jace laughed, and Alec glared at him.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he hissed, turning his back to start the coffee machine.

“Sure Jan,” said Jace, then added quickly, “wait, he’s coming! He stood up, he’s coming here!”

“Really?” Alec asked, turning to face the room, spilling some coffee from the cup he was filling. He glanced at Magnus and noticed he was still sitting down at the table, typing furiously on his laptop.

Jace was nearly dying from laughter. 

“You are the worst,” Alec grunted, trying to clean the mess he just caused with a towel. 

“And you are the idiotest.”

“This is not… this is a made up word.”

“All words are made up, buddy,” Jace giggled, then turned suddenly back serious. “Alec, he’s coming. For real this time. Just in case you want to know”

“I’m not falling for that again Jace, I’m not that stupid.”

“Really, it’s not a-”

“James!” a well known voice said in fake cordiality and Alec stiffened.

“Actually it’s _Jace_.”

“Whatever,” Magnus dismissed, and Alec turned to look at him again, leaving the now probably cold coffee he was desperately trying to make on the counter. 

“Hey,” he said, trying not to sound too obvious. Judging by the amused look Jace was giving him again, he probably failed. Badly.

“Hey yourself.”

“What are you… what are you doing here?”

“I’m here to pay before leaving.”

“I thought I said it was on the house,” Alec said, but Jace sudden interrupted.

“Since when you get to decide to give _my_ food for free without asking?”

Alec glared at him again. “Since _now_. Don’t you have better things to do, like working perhaps?”

Jace held his gaze but didn’t reply. He winked instead, and went to re make the coffee that Alec had just messed up. Alec wished he could just jump off the window to avoid all this awkwardness.

“You told me the food was on the house, I still have to pay for the drinks,” Magnus explained patiently.

“Of course, yeah, right. It’s five dollars, then.” 

Magnus smiled and put a twenty dollars note in his hand. Their fingers brushed. “Keep the change, dear. And thank you for bringing me breakfast, it was really good. Tell that to your brother. Or maybe not. It’s not that I come here for him, right?” 

Alec looked shocked by his words, and did not reply.

“See you tomorrow, Alexander,” Magnus said, letting his gaze linger on him a few moments, then he just left. 

“You are so screwed!” Jace laughed, as soon as the man was gone. 

Alec opened his mouth to give him a harsh reply when they heard a woman say “Where the hell is my coffee?”

When Magnus finally arrived at his workplace he was no longer feeling tired nor he was thinking about demons in New York City, even if he probably should have been.

He couldn’t help but ask himself if what happened today was an actual improvement on his attempts at flirting. He knew he was being stupid and he was usually never like this, _I’m a superhero for fuck’s sake,_ but Alec somehow always managed to make him feel like this, like he was a normal bi disaster trying to flirt with the cute guy next door. And that was priceless. That was why he liked him so much, with him he was just Magnus.

He let himself wonder how one _six-feet-twenty-something-toned_ piece of candy like that could find himself working in a coffee shop instead of on a magazine cover or Abercrombie and then he forced himself to get his mind to work. 

He entered the building of _Bane Enterprises_ and greeted his employees with a small wave of his hand. He had informed his intern he had to sign some paperworks that day and asked him to come, so he walked towards his office looking around for any sign of Raphael. The boy was smart, but fairly hard to work with, and Magnus knew it was unlikely he was going to show himself at work after that morning’s whiny email about some recent investments he didn’t approve. Sometimes he just didn’t show up at all and worked from home. If he wasn’t so good at his job and Magnus wasn’t already fond of him he would have kicked him out already.

He locked the door with the snap of his fingers and looked carefully around for good measure. 

“Okay, let’s get into work,” he muttered to himself and opened the second drawer to the left. 

Here it was, all his research of the past weeks, everything he found out about the summonings. There were a few newspapers’ articles that talked about some of the attacks, but they were only a few. Dates and places underlined with his bright highlighter, some informations about the mayor and his wife that he believed had something to do with the last event and, most of all, the files about his suspect number one.

_White Knight._

White Knight was a super like him, the only super like him in the whole city. There were a few friendly neighborhood vigilantes around, but the _Supers_ in town, the one with capitalised S were Magnus himself and White Knight. Magnus knew the man, they had crossed paths before, but he didn’t know much about his powers, not beyond the fact that he was super strong and super full of himself. Oh, and he had a pair of huge white dove wings, an angelic flaming sword and flashy blonde hair. 

He couldn’t stand him, of course. There was only enough space for _one_ extra drama queen with powers in town and that place belonged to Magnus.

They had fought together a few times times, back by back, and there was something off with him, something strange. People believed he had a contract with a demon of darkness, or an invisible one.

The fact was, were White Knight went death followed. Most of the times he didn’t even have to fight the bad guys, because they fell down before they got to even be near him.

When White Knight was somewhere fighting demons, supervillains, or any other menace big enough to catch his attention, even if you saw him in plain sight fighting with the main guy, the shadows around him were deadly dangerous to everyone else nearby like there was someone or some _thing_ else having his back from afar.

Even if it was going to turn out he didn’t have anything to do with the recent events – and he probably did – he certainly had to know something. 

Magnus spent the rest of the work day signing papers, guilt calling Raphael, baring his colleagues’ presence and Googling everything he could find about White Knight.

He felt a bit guilty about it, White Knight had had his back every time they fought together and he didn’t look nor sound evil, per se. Narcissistic? Yes. Evil mastermind who pursued the end of humanity? Not so much.

But there was something in the darkness around him at night, something whispering in the shadows that followed. And he was the most demonic being Magnus could think about, so he had to find him to interrogate him.

When it was finally time to clock out, he hadn’t found much. There were a few people on the internet that speculated on what kind of demon followed him, but most of them were either made up or something too different from how it felt. Magnus knew demons very well, and the online theories were all bullshit to him.

White Knight also never hurt civilians, not even by mistake. He was one of the good guys, or so it seemed. It was really really difficult to convince demons not to hurt people. That was what they did the most, their only purpose, after all.

He sighed, always the last to go out, his footsteps echoing in the empty corridors. The sun had already set, but if he was lucky enough he could make all the way home, have a decent dinner, and change into his supersuit ready to spend another sleepless night chasing demons, supervillains, or occasionally mild robbers that had the bad luck to cross his path while he was on patrol.

It turned out he, in fact, was _not_ lucky enough in the slightest.

His enchanted necklace, the only useful gift his father was ever able to give him, started to burn the skin on his chest. He cursed between his lips and slipped it out of his clothes on his shirt. 

The ruby on it was shining bright red.

The necklace burning could only mean one thing.

Demons in the area. Again. 

“Fuck.” was all he could manage to say, thanking whatever deity for being alone in the building. With a snap of his fingers he summoned his suit, and ran off on the street. He was pretty fond of his patrol uniform, the way his navy blue pants and mask matched the blue light sparkling out of his fingers when he made some magic trick, how the white shirt was bright under the moonlight, how the only things his mask let the others see were his mouth and his golden eyes, another one of his father’s gifts, much less useful than the other, a gift that he had to cover up with magic during the day.

He touched the ruby pendant in concentration and focused on the warm poisonous feeling that was building up inside him. He gasped. Now he knew exactly where to go. He summoned a portal and jumped in it. 

It was a mess, much worse than the last one. There was a five floors building in front of him, and as it seemed it was full of demons. It was an abandoned office building Magnus knew it belonged to the mayor, one of the several places in town that the man owned for the sake of owning them, just like last time. He frowned behind the mask. That was suspicious. 

Looking through the glass walls he could spot demons in every floor, being their usual destructive selves.

_Fun - fucking - tastic._

There were no civilians involved apparently but he felt like he had to intervene anyway. This was too weird. Why would a demon horde attack an empty building? Who would summon them for such a purpose?

Looking at the roof with questioning eyes he caught a flash of light and flinched.

 _White Knight. Here we go._ He thought sharply, the bitter taste of disappointment in his mouth. Now he knew his colleague had something to do with the attacks. He opened another portal and stepped in. 

“Druid! Nice to see you, bud!” he heard, as soon as he set foot on the roof.

“You’re not fooling me anymore, White Knight. It’s over!” he yelled, knocking an infernal creature out with the wave of his hand, a blue light flashing in its eyes before it fell lifeless on the floor and then vanished in a puff of smoke.

“Excuse me, what?” the other man asked, dumbfounded, and for one second Magnus believed on his innocence, but he quickly shook it off. It couldn’t be a coincidence, not even if White Knight really looked like he was trying to fight back the demons, not to control them.

They heard a piercing scream and suddenly the biggest third class demon he had ever seen arose from the darkness. White Knight rose his Seraphic Blade and grinned.

“Hey, Druid! Look! I found the mommy!”

 _You fool!_ the demon’s words boomed in their heads as if they were thinking them. 

“How do you say it’s a mommy and not a daddy? Or a... _parent_?” asked Magnus with a confused frown.

White Knight shrugged, cutting the head off one of the little demonic children. “It just seems the case.”

 _You can kill my children, but you can’t get rid of me!_ the voice said in their minds again, and Magnus decided he had enough, so he froze it still with his powers. He didn’t have time for this demonic bullshit, he had a superhero to interrogate.

“Are you really telling me that you have nothing to do with this?” Magnus asked, struggling to keep the demon leader unmoving with his magic. “I can keep it still but not for long! You have to kill it now!” he then added.

“Of course I have nothing to do with this, what the hell bud?” White Knight yelled back, but Magnus almost didn’t listen, one of the demons running towards him, its claws hungry. He closed his eyes helpless, not able to fight back without freeing the big one, ready to face an end that didn’t come. White Knight was in front of him, giving his back, cutting off the demons’ head with one fluid motion.

“What are you doing here, then if you didn’t summon them?” Magnus asked, not even thanking him for saving his life. That was average hero business and they both knew it.

_You’re almost out of strength. And when you’ll finally run out, I will kill you both._

They both chose to ignore it. They were used to evil speeches at this point. The demon looked annoyed by their behaviour. “What do you think I’m doing? Kicking demons’ asses as usual! What’s wrong with you?”

The leader of the demons, tall, and dark, and ugly, his demonic black wings frozen under the spell, managed to move one arm towards them. Magnus felt exhaustion overwhelm him. His energy was really at its last.

“And what do you say about the other floors? They were full of demons! Why didn’t they come here to protect the mother we’re trying to kill? You’re controlling them, just admit it!”

White Knight ignored his accusations, too busy killing all the minor demons that were trying to attack them, while Magnus kept his focus on stopping the big one. “Okay, let it go now and when it comes for us I’ll stab its heart.”

“Yeah, as if I trust you.” Magnus said, but suddenly he felt his energy run out and had to step back, lowering his hands. The mother demon freed her other arm.

_You two shouldn’t have come here all alone. He released me and now I’ll kill you both._

Magnus saw White Knight’s smirk widen and felt the sudden urge to punch him in the face.

“Just for you to know, demon… I am _never_ all alone,” White Knight said smugly. One moment later an arrow was piercing the demon’s throat and it screamed so high their ears almost bled.

The demon fell on the floor in agony, its claws touching its neck in desperation, ichor flooding out from the cut on its throat. After the blink of an eye, there was only ash and silence.

“What… how did you…” Magnus blurted out in confusion. He knew the voices said White Knight killed demons without raising a hand, but it was incredible to see.

“It was about time!” White Knight then said to seemingly no one. He looked half amused, half pissed off, his arms raised in annoyance.

“Oh, _I’m sorry_. I was clearing all the other floors to let you kill this one,” the darkness around them spoke. Magnus flinched. “But you didn’t even do that _one_ thing.”

“Well there were other demons out there, too. It’s not like I only had one job.”

“And in the end who killed both the other demons _and_ the mother?”

“It’s not fair! Druid was holding it still! And I was just about to do it, you ruined all the fun. I was only letting it give us the evil speech first! It doesn’t feel the same without it!”

“Who the hell are you talking to?” Magnus finally snapped. “Your pet demon?”

White Knight barked out a laugh, his golden hair shining under the moonlight. “My _pet demon_? He wishes!”

The shadows around them scoffed. “I don’t know if I should be flattered or offended,” the voice said.

“Trust me, for you it’s a compliment. I will totally trade you for a pet demon,” White Knight joked. “But unfortunately I can’t. Druid, this is my brother, Shadow. He is the angsty and less attractive one. I don’t think you’ve been formally introduced.”

White Knight gestured vaguely somewhere in the dark. Magnus frowned trying to focus, blinking hard. 

Slowly, he started to spot the slim shape of a men surrounded by the night’s darkness. The figure came closer, Magnus could almost see him clearly now. He couldn’t be more different from his brother. 

For starters, he was way taller, being at least six feet tall. While White Knight on his face had a shiny golden mask shaped like a pair of wings, Shadow’s mask was deep black like the rest of his suit. He was completely covered by it, the only parts of him he showed were his mouth and his attentive hazel eyes that sent a chill down Magnus’ spine. His black integral costume made him fade away in the darkness of the night, he was silent and so still it was impossible to see him if you didn’t know he was there. He held a black bow with his gloved hand, and black arrows secured behind his back.

But the biggest difference between them was on how their lips looked under the moonlight. Shadow’s mouth was an unimpressed thin line, White Knight was smiling smugly like nothing was wrong in the world at all.

There was no demon horde, nor a demon of darkness, invisibility nor a demon at all. This was the reason why the shadows around White Knight always whispered at night. This was the reason why no villain got near enough to touch him even in the middle of a battle. This was his silent protector, his guardian, his brother. 

“I never heard about you before,” Magnus whispered, looking at him intrigued.

White Knight smiled wider. “Of course you haven’t. Nobody knows about him but me. Everyone who had the pleasure to see that dumb self of his had faced an horrible death soon after, I’m afraid. He’s the backstage guy.”

“Well, it’s a pleasure indeed,” Magnus said, making a small bow, blue sparks spreading from his fingers. “My name is Druid, and I’m the main reason your brother is still walking on his own feet today.”

“I don’t know if I should thank you or be mad at you for that,” he said, and for the first time since Magnus saw him, he made the smallest smile. His voice sounded off, slightly disturbed, he probably had a voice changer hidden in the mask. Druid did too, like almost every other super. “But there’s no need to introduce yourself, I know who you are. Every time you fought with White Knight by your side you fought with me too, you just didn’t know I was there.”

“What a shame!” Magnus replied with a smirk. “I would have liked to be aware of your presence very much.”

“Yeah, you thought he was my pet demon instead!” White Knight laughed again.

Shadow glared at him and Magnus rolled his eyes, ignoring him and looking at Shadow instead. “I’ve known you for five minutes and you’re already my favourite.”

Shadow tried to fight back another smile but failed. Magnus counted it as a big win.

“You’d be the very first one, then.” White Knight said bitterly.

“That’s cause we hang out with people with no taste,” Shadow remarked. Magnus was sure he was right.

“So what’s the deal? He does your dirty work and you get the spotlight?” Magnus asked the white and golden man next to him. He didn’t know why, but the thought made him angry.

“We both do the dirty work,” White Knight said, “and he doesn’t like the spotlight.”

“It’s easier like this,” Shadow explained, “nobody can get to him because I watch his back, and nobody can get to me because they don’t know I exist.”

“But now I know,” Magnus commented.

“Do you want to get to me, Druid? I’m afraid you would regret it.”

“I’d love to see it, darling,” Magnus said with a smirk and the man in front of him smiled again. Magnus was already getting used to this smile.

“So it’s Shadow’s fault if you thought I was with the baddies, right? We’re okay now,” White Knight asked, fidgeting with his flaming sword.

“I guess you’re officially absolved, yes. But if you’re not the one behind all this, I have no idea about who could it be,” Magnus whispered. “Or maybe I do…”

“Do you have any clues? Tell us. We want to help!” White Knight said, and Magnus curled his mouth, thoughtful.

“I suppose that makes sense. But not today. The latest events changed my point of view. I have to re analyse my data. I’ll see you both tomorrow night and I’ll give you everything I have. I could use a little help.”

The two men exchanged a quick look, a silent conversation between them, the kind of silent conversation that only siblings or sometimes long time lovers could have.

“That can be arranged,” Shadow said, his voice grave.

“Perfect. Let’s meet each other on the Eastern Bank’s roof tomorrow at ten. I have a place where we can talk in private that’s nearby.”

“All right. And Druid… mention his existence to anyone,” White Knight said, and the tone in his voice made Magnus feel like he was dead serious, “and you won’t see the following day, nor will the one you’re going to tell.”

“I would never,” he whispered, and he meant it. He was a super too, he had his secrets and understood the importance of keeping them. “You’re safe with me.”

“We better be. Because if I come to know that you said something, and trust me, I will-”

“Enough. I trust him,” Shadow interrupted, and the other two looked at him in disbelief. “Let’s go, now. We have work tomorrow.”

“Your wish is my command, brother.” White Knight said, but Magnus had the impression that it was more like the other way round. “Fancy a ride?” he asked, giving him his hand.

Shadow didn’t take it. “I’m not in the mood to fly. Let’s walk home.”

Magnus expected White Knight to protest, but instead he silently retracted his white wings in his back. “Let’s go.”

Shadow nodded briefly, then turned to face Magnus once again. “Thanks for keeping him safe.”

“He didn’t keep me safe. _I_ kept him safe,” White Knight grunted.

“You’re welcome,” Magnus said, and a small smile spread on Shadow’s lips again. His new goal now was making him smile again, maybe a bit wider next time.

The first to disappear in the night was him, but a few moments later the White Knight’s pearl and golden costume faded into the darkness as well. As soon as they were out of sight, he sighed.

Magnus Bane loved mornings. But he was starting to appreciate nights, too.


	2. Everything he didn't want to hear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one in which the truth is not promising and father issues begin to show up.

Alec frowned, struggling with the keys. That day he had the opening shift without Jace – they both had the morning off once a week – and he was feeling beyond tired.

The day before there had been a demon attack in an abandoned building in the suburbs, and while Jace was wasting time and doing sword tricks with Druid, he had to kill five floors full of demons and then their leader all by himself.

 _At least_ , he thought, fighting with the key that needed to be changed, _we found ourselves an ally._

He wasn’t used to talk to people on patrol, people that weren’t his brother. Druid was the very first person that acknowledged Shadow’s existence and lived long enough to see the morning after. That made him feel anxious yet somehow relieved.

There was something about the man that had always fascinated him. He had silently fought several battles having his back, and Druid have had no clue until the day before, but Alec always liked to watch him, to watch how he fought, how his magic raged against his opponents, how it left them lifeless on the floor, shoved them on the concrete walls of New York City, burned them from the inside. He liked to watch how his golden eyes burned like torches in the moonless nights. There was something powerful, scary and fascinating about him and Alec liked the idea that was Druid the first person to know Shadow after his siblings.

He wasn’t used to the sensation of having to depend on someone that wasn’t Jace, but he had to trust the man, he had to believe he wasn’t going to tell anybody about Shadow’s existence. And for how crazy it could sound, he did.

And it felt good, somehow, to think that there was at least one person in the world, one person that wasn’t part of his family, who knew. That could think about him and what he did, sometimes. Because he was starting to feel like Shadow didn’t even exist, that there was only Jace fighting the bad guys, and the rest of his nights were only a fervent dream.

“What did that poor door do to you to deserve this?” a voice said, making him tense.

For a moment he felt terrified. _Druid told someone. I’m compromised. I don’t have my bow. I’m compromised._

The sight he found wasn’t as menacing as he was expecting. Magnus was smiling apologetically at him, shrugging his shoulders. “I come in peace, I swear.”

Alec exhaled deeply, letting his guard down. “Sorry. These keys are driving me nuts.”

“May I…?” he asked, and Alec let him try, without a second thought. 

“If it doesn’t work I’ll have to call Jace and he’ll bring his keys. I have to make new ones.”

“That won’t be necessary, dear,” said Magnus, that with one smooth movement – and a little bit of magic that Alec didn’t get to see – turned the keys and finally opened the door. 

“Woah,” Alec said, half bitter half impressed. “I guess I’m just _that_ bad at it, then.”

“Don’t say that darling, you had already done most of the work, I just gave the final push,” Magnus comforted him, entering the shop and looking around with a smile.

“What are you doing here so early? Couldn’t sleep?” Alec asked, switching the lights on and ready to change into his working clothes. 

“It’s your brother’s morning off,” explained Magnus with a shrug, and Alec looked at him in confusion. “Like I told you yesterday, it’s not like I come here for him, do I?”

Alec held his breath and looked at him hesitantly. “I don’t know. Do you?”

Magnus’ smile widened. “Definitely not. And neither do I for the drinks even if I have to admit you make quite a nice coffee, Alexander.”

Alec gave him one of the half smile of his that always managed to warm Magnus’ chest, and this time it gave him some sort of déjà vu, but he shook off the sensation quickly. 

“I’m gonna change into my work robes. Make yourself at home,” Alec said, hesitating for a moment before walking straight into the backroom. 

Magnus looked at him disappearing behind the door and sighed. It was like trying to approach a shy kitten on the street. And he was feeling exhausted after last night even if, demon attack aside, he had to admit the night had been quite pleasant.

More like, his new acquaintance had been quite pleasant. 

He put his laptop on one of the small tables and switched it on. All his previous researches about White Knight have been proven useless. He didn’t summon demons, nor worked with them. It was only his fairly more interesting brother that had brought Msgnus out of track. 

The only thing that made him suspect about White Knight had no sense anymore, it was frustrating at best, but that didn’t mean he had to start right back from the beginning; he had a second suspect, a suspect that the crime scene’s location of the previous night sort of confirmed.

 _Robert Lightwood._ The mayor. 

There was something strange in the way how the police never seemed to get in time when a summoning happened, and the way he influenced the press into talking about it as less as possible didn’t make things better. The man usually said it was about avoiding mass panic but that sounded more like a poor excuse. 

And the last two attacks were set in two of his possessions in the suburbs, possessions that had no point in existing at all. It couldn’t possibly be a coincidence.

 _Why would someone summon a horde in an empty building like that?_ He thought, biting his lower lip. _To get rid of some kind of evidences? To give us a fake track?_ A chill went down his spine when he thought about one of the possibilities. _To attract me and White Knight all the way to a trap?_

“You look tired. Again. You should sleep more,” a voice said and he closed his laptop screen so quick he feared he just broke it.

“Alexander, dear, you have to stop to scare me like that,” he gasped, his right hand pressed on his chest as he steadied his breath. Sometimes it seemed like the man just appeared out of nowhere. 

“I’m good at being silent,” he laughed, and with that all was forgotten. Magnus thought he probably just heard the best sound in the world.

“Really? I haven’t noticed,” he said, finally looking up from the table straight into the other’s eyes. “Was that a hint to say that I shouldn’t be here so early? I can leave if you’re busy.”

“Don’t!” Alec immediately blurted out and looked like he regretted it immediately after, his cheeks turning slightly darker. “I enjoy you being here. I’m just concerned, that’s all.”

Magnus smiled wide. “That is really kind of you, but I have to admit, you don’t look well rested yourself.”

Alec shrugged. _Demon attacks are tough_ , he wanted to say, but obviously he didn’t. “I’m having trouble sleeping. My brother snores a lot. And you? Why didn’t you sleep?”

 _Demon attacks are tough,_ Magnus thought as well, _and finding out your suspect is only an idiot with an overprotective brother and your work had been useless is even worse_. But he could not say that, either. “I am a busy man.”

“Do you fancy a cup of coffee? It would make you feel better, I guess.”

“Would you join me if I do?” he asked, with a flashy grin. 

Alec’s stomach flipped at he words but he managed not to beam too much. “Well, you’re the only customer so I don’t see why not. But if you have to work I don’t want to disturb-”

“Don’t worry, I was just checking emails. Nothing I can’t do in the office,” he lied. Sometimes lies were worth it and that was definitely the case.

“What do you want to drink? The usual?”

“You know me too well,” he replied with a smile. When Alec went away to make both of their drinks, he shoved the laptop to the side with a small gesture and looked at him, working behind the counter.

 _Why can’t it be always like this?_ He thought bitterly, _why can’t I just be normal?_

Sometimes his gift felt more like a curse. He had thought about it, several times. He even wanted to name his alter ego _Curse_ at some point, or _Poison_ , but they sounded more like names a supervillain could have so he settled with Druid.

That was part of why he loved mornings, because he could push his work in the back of his mind and he could just be there, sipping coffee and talking with the man he liked, like any normal person would. It was the only time during the day he could do something like this.

“I can hear you overthinking,” Alec said sitting down on the chair the opposite side of the table. He handed him his latte and Magnus accepted it with a small smile. “What’s the matter?”

“I’m just happy to be here, I guess,” he said, and God knew how he hoped for him to answer any way that wasn’t with another small smile, a flush of his cheeks and a change of the subject.

It had to be his lucky day, because miraculously it happened. “It’s good. That you’re happy, I mean. It looks like you’re a little overwhelmed lately.”

“And are _you_? Happy?” Magnus asked, because the boy sounded more open today than usual and _fuck it_ , he decided to push.

Alec surprised him once again. “Of course I’m happy. I love it when you’re here.”

 _You know what, in for a penny, in for a pound_. Magnus thought, and swallowed hard. “Alexander, I’ve been meaning to ask you something for a while,” he said, frowning a bit as his stomach started to clench uncomfortably. 

Alec tilted his head on the side, blinking curiously at him. 

_He can’t not know what I want to say, can he? He must know at this point._

“Yes?”

“I was wondering if you would, perhaps-” 

The doorbell rang and it was a pure miracle that the old woman who just entered the coffee shop with tired eyes and a demanding frown was still standing on her own feet, because Magnus was _this_ close to turning her to a pile of ashes on the spot.

“Sorry, I think I should-” Alec muttered, and Magnus couldn’t but smile and say

“Of course.”

After he successfully served the woman, Alec stood behind the counter with an annoyed frown waiting for her to go away, glancing a miserable look every five minutes to the man that was intently typing on his laptop, a few times catching him staring back.

When the woman finally got out, there was a group of students sipping frappes, and Alec knew the moment was gone for good. 

After an hour or so, Magnus had to leave for work too, and Alec insisted on not accepting any money from him again.

“Your brother-”

“Screw him!”

“Oh, well, if you insist…” he said, and winked, but then he had to leave and Alec groaned and didn’t hit the counter with his forehead only because there were customers and he still had some kind of dignity left.

When Jace came in at lunchtime, he greeted him with an annoying happy face and a well rested smile. “How’s my pet demon doing today?”

Alec was still sulking. “Fine.”

His brother blinked in surprise, his smile quickly turning into worry. “What-”

“I’m _fine_ , Jace,” he deadpanned again. He hated talking about feelings. Talking about feelings was stupid, pointless and uncomfortable. He didn’t know why Jace liked it so much.

“Did someone find you? Did Druid tell someone else? Did someone track you down?”

“No, no, and no. Just tired. If he told someone I’ve not been tracked, as far as I know.”

Jace sighed in relief and his shoulders relaxed slightly. “I’ve been worried, you know. I thought that since yesterday, well, _that_ happened I shouldn’t have taken the morning off,” he said with a guilty look.

“It’s okay. I was fine, no need to worry. I don’t think he’d tell anyone.”

The second later his brother’s smirk was back in its place. “Did you miss me?”

Alec scoffed, his hands busy making a sandwich for a schoolboy that was leaning on the counter a few feet away, scrolling on his phone. “As if!”

“It was a trick question, I know you didn’t miss me, brother,” Jace said, raising his brows in a knowing look. “I’m sure you had the best of times with your beloved.”

“Jace!” Alec yelped, and his hands stopped working.

“What now? You think I don’t know why you don’t seem so annoyed by my mornings off recently?”

“I-, it’s not-, it’s-”

“There’s nothing bad on trying to live a normal life, you know.”

“I can’t have it. You know this.”

“You can have something close. Like me and Clary.”

“It’s different. She knows and she isn’t bothered by it. I can’t have something like that,” he groaned, putting the sandwich in a small plate.

“Why not?” Jace asked, “and if you really believe this, what do you plan on doing then? Live alone for the rest of your life?”

“I’m never all alone,” he answered, so low Jace wouldn’t probably even heard it if it wasn’t for his enhanced senses. 

“I love you, Alec. You know I do. But it can’t be the two of us forever. You don’t deserve it,” Jace said, and Alec opened his mouth to reply but a glare from his brother shut him up. “And when you came out and our parents kicked you out, I-” he sighed.

“You what?”

“I don’t know how not to make it sound like I regret it, because I don’t,” he paused, and Alec waited patiently. “Let’s put it like that. When you came out and our parents kicked you out and I followed you because _fuck them_ , I thought you were doing it for some kind of purpose. If you don’t even ask a guy out when he flirts with you and you obviously like him than what was the point of everything?”

Alec closed his eyes and breathed. He didn’t want to have this conversation. He didn’t want to have this conversation at work, nor anywhere else ever. But every time Jace wanted to talk about those things he felt like he owned him answers, and even if Jace chose by himself to follow him and leave their parent’s house Alec knew he would have never done it if it wasn’t for him. 

So he breathed. And forced himself not to snap.

“I came out because I didn’t want to live a lie. I did it because I wanted to be honest with them and with myself. Even if I’m never going out with anyone, I had to do it anyway. And knowing how it turned out I’m glad I did. I don’t want to live with someone that doesn’t approve what I am. I don't want them.”

“Neither do I. You know that, right?” Jace asked, and Alec couldn’t bring himself to look at him.

“Yeah. I know.”

  
It was a few minutes past ten, Alec and Jace were standing on the Eastern Bank’s roof waiting for Druid to show himself. Jace had his wings in plain sight, getting all the attention they could possibly get all to himself, leaning on his flaming sword like it was a walking cane. Alec was a few feet behind, engulfed by the darkness like a blanket, perfectly still with the hands behind his back like a good soldier.

“I don’t think he’s going to show up.” White Knight said out loud, but Shadow stayed silent. He always did when they were on patrol and Jace knew it, he wasn’t expecting an answer.

One moment later a portal appeared on the roof and Druid came out, a confident smile on his lips.

“Oh, you’re already here I see.” he said, then added. “It’s you alone? Where’s your brother?” 

Alec flinched. He wanted to talk but he knew he couldn’t, it wasn’t safe, not in this part of the city where there could always be someone awake and listening.

“Shut up!” Alec heard Jace hiss. “Don’t talk about him outside. He’s here. Go and he’ll follow,” he said, and Druid nodded.

He looked around looking for him, but Alec knew he wasn't going to spot him, not until he wanted to be seen. A pair of golden glowing eyes glanced in his direction and Alec stared in awe. A moment later Druid turned his head back to Jace, seemingly annoyed, probably because he couldn’t spot him yet. 

“Come on, lead the way.” White Knight said, and Druid nodded. They started to go down the stairs of the fire escape in silence, their footsteps echoing through the night. But not Alec’s. He didn’t make a sound, following them light as a cat. 

“So, what are your powers exactly?” Jace broke the silence when they were almost on the ground. “Teleportation, energy manipulation, and…?”

“First of all, it’s not teleportation. I open portals. It’s very different. Teleportation is when you are somewhere and if you want the instant later you are somewhere else. I go all the way from one place to another, I just fold space to make the two places closer with just a door between them and then I open the door.”

“Yeah. Teleportation. Then what else?”

Magnus sighed and Alec forced back a laugh. “You were right abot energy manipulation. That’s how I can shove demons against walls or set them on fire,” he said, and White Knight whistled. Alec raised his brows too, impressed. “And I can summon objects if I need them, but I can’t create them. Let’s say, if I now needed a club sandwich I could snap my fingers and have one, but the coffee shop down the road would have a missing club sandwich tomorrow morning. That’s why I would never do that. That would be impolite,” he said, jumping down the last step on the ground. “This way!”

“You know, it doesn’t work like this. In coffee shops they make sandwiches only when you order them, otherwise they wouldn’t be fresh, so you wouldn’t have any to summon”

“Makes sense,” Druid muttered, thoughtful. “And what about you, White Knight? What are your powers exactly? Flight, sword fighting and being purposefully annoying?”

Alec snorted, and immediately covered his mouth with his hands in shock. Jace glared vaguely in his directions, Druid looked towards him, his golden eyes glowing with pride and amusement. They couldn’t see him, but the mere fact they were looking for him was enough to make Alec feel weird.

“I have super strength, enhanced senses, a wonderful pair of wings I can retract, a flaming sword and I’m gorgeous. Thanks for asking.”

“You’re also super humble, I see,” said Druid, and even if he was giving his back Alec knew he was smirking. “And if you had some sort of partner in crime… a fellow super, let’s say, that works with you… which power would they have?”

 _He’s talking about me._ Alec thought, as he followed silently the men walking at a decently fast pace.

“I don’t know, since I don’t have any-”

“But if you did…”

“If I had a partner, which I don’t, I wouldn’t tell you about his powers, if he wants he can tell you himself!” Jace said, and Alec felt grateful. It just wasn’t okay to reveal others’ powers like this. 

“Wait!” Druid called, grabbing Jace’s arm. Alec instantly lifted his bow and notched an arrow, waiting for one of them to make a move. 

Druid didn’t even notice, but Jace certainly knew his back was covered. He lifted a brow and asked “what?”

“It’s here. Come in,” Druid whispered, and as soon as he let go Alec lowered his arm with a sigh. 

The man snapped his fingers and light blue sparkles came out. The door clicked open. 

“Should I leave the door open for him, or…?” he asked, leading the way inside. White Knight was retracting his wings to have more space inside.

“That won’t be necessary,” Shadow finally spoke, a few steps behind them. Druid flinched, Jace was relaxed as ever. He was used to it. “I’m already here.”

“You… have to stop doing that,” Druid breathed out, letting them in.

“You’re lucky he likes you, you know,” Jace commented. “You were this close to get an arrow in your skull a few seconds ago.” 

“What?” 

“When you grabbed my arm. He was just about to shoot you with one of his arrows.”

“Really?” Druid asked, looking at him, and Alec shrugged.

“No touching.”

Once they were all inside, Druid locked the door behind them with his magic. It was a small apartment, nothing personal; the walls were white and empty, there were only two rooms: a small bathroom and a sort of studio with a big desk and a book shelter; there was a laptop on the desk that looked strangely familiar, but Alec didn’t spend a thought about it. 

“What’s this place?” White Knight asked, folding his flaming sword and putting it down. Shadow kept the bow in his hand.

“My Headquarters. I don’t live here, obviously, but I can’t leave this stuff at home. It could be dangerous.”

“Why?” Alec asked, sitting on the desk. Jace stood next to him and leaned on him slightly. “A wife and some kiddies that could find your shady stuff?”

Druid grimaced slightly. It was the first time Alec could see him so clearly, now that the lights were switched on. He liked his blu costume, that matched with the light blue of his magic, and contrasted with his eyes. His white shirt had two undone buttons, the bronze skin of his chest and neck showing all the way up to his lips, where the mask started. He couldn’t help but ask himself how his face looked behind it. Druid was staring back at him intently.

“Nothing of sorts, no. But I’ve got a few friends that sometimes like to show up uninvited, and you can’t always know what is going to happen. If some kind of thief breaks in my house I wouldn’t be compromised, and if someone breaks in here there’s nothing that suggests my real identity.”

Jace crinkled his nose at the words. “Do you think we should do it too?”

“Yeah, and who is going to pay for a spare apartment? You?” Alec scoffed. “Besides, I could never sleep without my bow in the same room.”

“Enough with small talk!” Druid interrupted. “As much as I enjoy talking about what keeps us up at night, that’s not why asked you to come here today.”

Jace nodded. “Yeah, right. Tell us what you have.”

“Robert Lightwood,” Druid answered proudly.

Alec felt all the muscles in his body tense suddenly.

“What about him?” Jace asked, apparently untouched. He could fool Druid, but he couldn’t fool his brother. Alec heard the light anxious tone in his voice. Their arms brushed, and Jace put a hand on his leg, steading him.

“I think he could be the one behind all this.”

“Bullshit,” Alec said, cold.

“I didn’t even-”

“Bullshit.”

“Let him talk, Shadow,” White Knight whispered.

“Fine. Speak, if you please,” Alec finally hissed, looking challengingly at the man in front of him.

“There are a lot of things that just seem off about him and how he handles the whole demon situation. I am friend with a police officer, I won’t say his name, but I called him today and he believes the mayor is preventing the NYPD from arriving in time to stop the demon attacks. He is trying to silence the press too, forcing them to write about it as less as possible. And the last two times something strange happened the attacks took place in two of his buildings. Why there? There was no people around, they didn’t cause any trouble… there has to be something.”

The other two fell silent for some moments, and exchanged a worried look. 

“No,” Alec said, shaking his head. “No. There has to be an explanation. He wouldn’t-”

“You don’t know that,” said Jace, the grip on Alec’s leg tightening. “What Druid’s saying, it makes sense.”

“You can’t be serious. He’s not the best man in the world but you know he’s not evil, not like that.”

“What I know,” White Knight reasoned, “is how he treated you. What I know is how he hurt you.”

“Am I missing something?” Druid asked, confusion in his voice as he spoke.

“Robert Lightwood… we know him,” said Jace. “He… helped us, when we were kids. We used to be pretty close. But one day… he stopped. We haven’t seen him since. I think he hates us at this point.”

“You mean he hates _me_ ,” Alec said. “He wanted me out of the way, not you.”

Druid frowned behind the mask. That was surprising, indeed. 

“Yeah, I have to admit he had a soft spot for me,” Jace said, with an eye roll.

Shadow scoffed. “Sure he liked you, you are heterosexual and have low expectations on father figures.”

The words caught Druid’s attention as he looked up at Shadow in surprise. The two heroes didn’t seem to notice. 

“I think they’ll probably put that on my gravestone,” Jace joked, “ _He was Heterosexual and had Low Expectations_.”

Alec smiled. A brief forced flash of a smile.

Jace looked at him narrowly. “You have to admit, the man has a point.”

“The _man_ has also a name,” Druid said, slightly annoyed. “But if you really know him, that makes you biased. And potential suspects.”

“I thought we were okay after that pet demon misunderstanding,” Jace said, glaring at him.

“We were, but now I…”

“We’re clear. And we haven’t heard from him since ages. As I said, he probably hates me, he probably doesn’t even know if we’re dead or alive. If you want to investigate further we won’t stop you, but we’ll keep looking for other options,” Shadow said with a firm tone. “We trusted you. We told you about me. We told you we had a link with Lightwood. We fought alongside with you in the past. It’s time for you to trust us in return.”

Druid looked up at him, the stubbornness in his beautiful eyes, his lips a straight line, his chin up in pride. And he did. “I do. I trust you.”

Alec believed him. 

When they finally said their goodbyes, Alec was feeling weird. He let Jace give him a ride and they flew home silently, neither of them wanting to bring up what Druid had to say.

He didn’t like what Druid had told them, he refused to believe what he said about his father, he was angry and upset and maybe only a little bit doubtful.

Despite of all those feelings, the last thing Alec pictured in mind before falling asleep was a pair of glowing golden cat eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well dudes, honestly this is the chapter I like the least idk why, so brace yourselves because I'm going to post the third one in a few minutes, so you'll have something more to read today u.u  
> I hope you liked it anyway ~  
> Thanks for reading :*


	3. We push and pull like magnets do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one in which Alec and Magnus part ways and Shadow and Druid grow closer.

_Sure, he liked you, you are heterosexual and have low expectations on father figures._

Magnus thought about it all night. He didn’t know why.

_Sure, he liked you, you are heterosexual and have low expectations on father figures._

In all fairness, he _did_ know why he thought about it all night. And that made him feel a bit ashamed of himself.

_Sure, he liked you, you are heterosexual and have low expectations on father figures._

It wasn’t like he was developing a crush on a random vigilante he only saw twice in his life and had no idea about how he looked in real life.

It wasn’t

At all.

Was it?

And _maybe_ he saw him only two times in his life but he met him a few more, even if he didn’t know the man was there. That had to count, did it?

And _maybe_ he did know a bit how he looked in real life. He knew he was taller than him, he knew he had big clear eyes, he knew he was slim and fit and elegant. 

He reminded of a certain someone he definitely had a crush on.

The truth was that if White Knight was gold, catching the light and the attention, Shadow was silver: so used to everyone else looking at White Knight that that was where he looked too, so used to living in his brother’s shadow that he didn’t expect to be seen. And silver, though few people knew it, was a rarer metal than gold.

When he opened the coffee shop’s door the bells rang and he felt his shoulders immediately relax.

It was a few minutes later than usual, but after all those restless nights he really needed to sleep a bit more.

“Heya boss!” blondie said, smiling at him from behind the counter. He looked tired as well, not that Magnus minded so much. Maybe a bit, the asshole was starting to grow on him.

“Grace! Good morning!” he said, walking straight to the counter and leaning on it with his elbows. “Where’s the far better brother of yours?”

“Woah I feel so appreciated right now bud, thank you…” Jace said, with an heartfelt eye roll. “He’s in the backroom, fighting with the muffins.”

“... fighting?” Magnus asked in amusement with one brow raised, and in that moment the backdoor slammed open. Here Alec stood, a tray of muffins in his hands, his hair pointing in all directions, his apron half burnt with a brown smoking hole in his stomach, and some ash on the tip of his nose. Magnus thought he didn’t remember being more turned on by something so funny ever.

“Jace, I swear to God, leave a goddamn knife in the oven again and I’ll fucking-” he cursed, but as soon as he saw the man talking with his brother he stopped dead. He blinked several times and looked like his entire life was scrolling in front of his eyes like on a Facebook dash, his face glowing in various shades of red.

He swallowed.

“Sorry.”

Jace snorted and Alec shot him a glare that could have scared an entire fleet of Iblis demons, but blondie didn’t look impressed. It was adorable, all of it.

“Don’t be. It’s kinda cute if you ask me,” Magnus said, _and weirdly hot_ , he added in his mind.

“I am going to take some orders over there!” Jace had the decency to mutter, and then he not so subtly ran towards the desk register where a couple was waiting patiently.

Alec looked like he would rather jump off a bridge than staying here in front of him like that. “Err, what can I do for you today, Magnus? The usual?” 

Magnus smiled wide. “You know me too well, dear.”

Alec cleared his throat uncomfortably and wiped his face with a paper towel, turning his back to make the caramel latte. 

“Tough morning?” Magnus asked, looking at the man at work. _I hate to see you go but I love to watch you leave, darling,_ he thought, letting his eyes wander down briefly.

“Tough night,” Alec said, still giving his back. “Heard something I didn’t want to hear and now I can’t get it out of my head.”

 _Well, welcome on board,_ Magnus thought bitterly. “I think sometimes you just overthink. You should let it go,” he said instead.

“You tell him! He doesn’t listen to me when I say that!” Jace said, coming back from the cashier.

“It’s different,” Alec said, still focused on the task, “you say I overthink because you normally don’t think at all. Average thinking is overthinking to you.”

“This is a lie and and also insulting!” Jace gasped, and Magnus glared at him.

“If you feel insulted why don’t you just leave?” Magnus asked, with a wide smile, “we really don’t want to upset you further!”

Jace looked at him and failed at suppressing a smirk. “I see. I’ll go check the brownies.”

“Yeah Trace-”

“It’s _Jace_!”

“Bring me one. They’re good! And I’m starving.”

When Alexander turned around with his latte in hand he was smiling, his whole face lit up looking at him. It was in moment like this, when the man looked at him like that, that Magnus thought they could make it work. That maybe Alec’s eyes were burning like that just because he was looking at him.

Suddenly every worry that was crashing him the past days vanished, along with everyone else. Robert Lightwood, the demon attacks, his business company, Raphael, White Knight, even Shadow and his comment about sexuality just evaporated. 

“It drives him nuts, you know. When you call him the wrong way.”

“Oh, did I? I genuinely thought his name was Mace!” Magnus joked, and Alec snorted. It was the best sound in the world.

“I know you know his name. You always call him Jace when he’s not around. You do it only to be annoying.”

Magnus shrugged, his smile faltering. “I can stop if you don’t like it. I mean, it’s fun and all but if it’s bothering you…”

“No, please!” Alec begged, “I’m having so much fun, really! And it’s not like he’s hurt or anything, he’s just annoyed. He can handle annoyed. He annoys me all the time.”

“All right, then! Jeff it is!” he said, taking the cup Alec was holding in his hands.

“Alexander, can I ask you something?” he asked, and tried to calm his breath sipping quietly from the cup. 

“Of course. You know you always can,” he said, and Magnus closed his eyes to recollect himself.

He knew he had to do this. This game they played, he enjoyed the flirting, but he couldn’t do this anymore. He had to know if he was imagining things, he had to know if this could become more. He had to.

“I was thinking… I always found you, err, sympathetic.”

“Sympathetic?” Alec asked, tilting his head in confusion.

Magnus looked at him like he could be looking at an abyss he was going to jump into, like it was going to be the death of him. He smiled. “Would you like to go on a drink sometimes?”

Alec’s eyes widened. Magnus noticed at the corner of his eyes two girls approaching the counter. _Fuck_.

“Oh. Well,” Alexander cleared his throat. He didn’t throw a tantrum, so that was at least better than expected. “Sounds fun.”

Magnus’ face lit up instantly. “Really? What about right now?”

“Err, I’m working,” he said, looking around self explanatory.

“You’re not alone, there’s your brother there,” said Magnus, because he couldn’t help it. It wasn’t like he wanted to push him, but he had waited a ridiculous amount of time to finally have this. The expression on Alec’s face was so miserable he tensed and waited for a proper answer. 

“I want to. I really do. Magnus, trust me-”

“Why do I sense a but coming?”

“ _But_ I can’t. It’s hard to explain, I-”

Magnus wished a hole on the floor could swallow him whole. “It’s okay, I understand.”

“You do?”

“You’re not… out, right?” Magnus asked, trying to hide the hint of disappointment in his voice.

Alec shrugged. “Kinda”

“We don’t have to go out if you don’t want to feel exposed. You can come to my place,” he saw Alec tense for a moment and added quickly. “Just for a drink, nothing too pushy, I swear.”

Alexander looked conflicted. “It’s not… it’s not that easy, I’m still adjusting. It’s hard for me… listen. I’ll think about it, okay?”

Magnus thanked all the existing gods, if there were any, for his acting abilities and smiled patiently. “Of course. No pressure.”

“I like you,” Alec blurted out, so fast the words came out unclear, “I really do.”

Magnus’ smile became more real for a moment. One of the girls at the counter cleared her throat and Alec turned unwillingly to face them, with his best customers’ smile. When he was done and he turned back to Magnus the man was long gone, a twenty dollars bill under his now empty cup the only sign of his previous presence.

“You’re an idiot,” a voice said, and Alec flinched.

His brother let out a small laugh. “Usually it’s you who scares me appearing out of nowhere.”

“You were- you were eavesdropping!”

“And you are an idiot.”

“You’re repeating yourself.”

  
When Magnus finally arrived at work, he was dangerously close on snapping to anyone unlucky enough to cross his path. None of his employees dared to say anything as he crossed the workplace fast and got into his office. He slammed the door open and saw Raphael behind his desk. Not in the guest’s chair, the one in front of him, but on Magnus’ chair, like he owned the place.

The asshole dared to glance at him an absent minded look and then looked back down at some papers. 

“What do you want, Raphael?” Magnus asked, shutting the door a little too loud than intended. 

Raphael didn’t look back up. “I thought you wanted to see me.”

“Why are you sitting at my desk?” 

“It’s comfy.”

Magnus exhaled deeply, trying to pace his breath. Raphael was a lot of things. He was inappropriate, for starters; disrespectful most of the times; impossibly shy but acted like others had no boundaries; Magnus had all the rights to snap at him, he always had.

But he never did it before, because he liked the young man, and it wouldn’t be fair to be mad today only because he was in a bad mood. 

He didn’t even have the right to be in a bad mood, honestly. 

Raphael seemed to notice at least some of the turmoil of emotions he was feeling, because he did something really strange. He looked at him dead in the eyes and something passed on his face, making the judgy stare falter for a moment. “Are you in trouble?” he asked, brushing his fingers on the cross pendant he had hanging from his necklace. Magnus had noticed long time ago he used to do this when he was feeling uncomfortable.

“Everything’s peachy,” he answered, and as quick as it came, the light in Raphael’s eyes passed.

“That’s a shame. I really wanted to laugh at your expense,” Raphael said, but he stood up anyway, leaving his spot and letting Magnus have his seat. 

“I am not in trouble,” Magnus reassured, just to make sure Raphael believed it, even if it wasn’t entirely true.

“So I’ve heard. As I said, that’s unfortunate.”

“What do I owe the displeasure of having you at work today?”

Raphael crinkled up his nose in annoyance. “I have filled your documents. You should sign them and send them as soon as possible. And I’ve heard you’re making poor purchases lately, so I’m here to put some sense into you. I don’t want to lose my job only because you don’t have business sense.”

“I thought you hated this job. And my business sense is fine, thank you.”

“I hate this job. But I’d hate more to look for something else. Too many people!”

They started talking about business and Magnus managed to forget about anything Alexander related for a few hours. When Raphael rushed back home he had to admit the dude was smart and his advices were precious. When he first hired him he was half sure it was going to be a huge fail, but he was glad he did.

And thinking about work made him clear his mind too.

He couldn’t help to be disappointed at the way Alec shattered all his dreams earlier, and he was scared he had ruined every kind of friendly relationship they had, he didn’t want the man to feel uncomfortable around him. He hated himself for that, he went too straightforward not caring about the consequences. It was a classic for him.

But he felt annoyed at Alexander too. Because he saw how the man flirted back, not even so subtly. He didn’t want to be mad at him because being in the closet, not being used to express yourself could be hard, Magnus knew it, and it wasn’t fair to be bitter but he was. 

He had to think about something else, maybe he could ask for Cat to make him babysit Madzie once all this demon issue was over, he missed his niece.

He put his laptop on the desk and switched it on. 

That night Druid was going to infiltrate in the mayor’s office. He had to bring evidences to White Knight and Shadow, to prove them he was right. He had to find something for them, for himself and for the sake of the city. 

He had to.

  
It was ten at night and Magnus was standing on a roof in front of the City Hall, looking for a way to get in unnoticed. He couldn’t just portal inside, portals only worked when he was going to a place he had already been before, or one he could see with his eyes. He looked attentively at the building, trying to find the security cameras to avoid them, when he heard a muffled sound behind him and turned quickly to face whatever danger was hiding in the shadows, blue sparks already flowing out of his hands.

“Easy, easy, David Copperfield. Just me,” a voice said, and out of the black curtains of the night Shadow came, hands raised to show he meant no arm, his bow secured to his hip with a silver belt, the arrows hanging on his back. 

Magnus lowered his arms and the sparkles disappeared. He smiled. “What a nice surprise! What do I owe the pleasure?”

Shadow shrugged slightly and sat down, his long legs hanging down the rooftop, his bow placed beside him. Magnus frowned in confusion behind the mask but sat down next to him.

“Where is your flashy brother? Hiding somewhere like you used to? Did you choose to swap roles for the night?”

Shadow shook his head firmly. “It’s just me tonight,” he whispered, “sorry to disappoint.”

“Oh, I’m far from disappointed,” Magnus said under his breath, and there was more truth in it than what he wanted to admit to himself. “Why are you here? I thought you didn’t think Lightwood was responsible.”

Shadow flinched hearing the mayor’s last name. “I don’t, but White Knight thinks we can’t exclude it if we don’t investigate further, and what you said about him asking the cops not to intervene made me think about it all night. I wanted to be sure, or I won’t be able to sleep again,” he said, and there was so much honesty in his voice Magnus was almost scared. “Just a little research to prove you it’s a dead end.”

 _Maybe it’s easier to say something like that out loud when you’re wearing a mask, when your face is not showing, when you don’t know the person you’re talking to._ Magnus thought.

“Why did you came alone? I thought you two never parted ways.”

“We only do sometimes when our work shifts don’t correspond and when he’s with his girlfriend, like tonight,” Shadow sighed. “I want him to live, I don’t want him to miss anything life has for him, not because of what we do.”

That was the moment Magnus knew he had to be the elder brother. It was there, clear as day, in the way he spoke about preserving the careless youth of his brother. “And you? Do you have a certain someone not to miss anything in life with?”

Shadow shrugged. “Sorta. I don’t know. There’s this one I like, and he likes me too…”

 _He likes me too_. Magnus noticed, a rush of fondness filling him all of a sudden.

“But…?” he asked, and regretted it almost immediately. It was the second time that day he had asked for a but and he didn’t want to think about the first. Not now.

“But I can’t let it happen. I have no time, I have a job during the day, and I do this at night, I barely get to sleep.”

“Your brother finds some time, apparently,” Magnus said.

“Yeah, he does. But when he does I go patrolling alone, and I will never want him to go alone when I’m busy like I do when he’s busy. He’s not ready. He’s reckless, he would get in trouble, I can’t let him go alone so I can have a bit of fun, I just can’t. When he’s with her I still manage to stroll around and keep an eye on the city all by myself, I can’t ask him to do that. He would do it for me, but I don’t want him to. And I probably won’t even enjoy the night because I’d be too busy being worried.”

“You’re not his father. And he’s not a child. He is a man with superpowers. I’m sure he can handle himself.”

Shadow visibly swallowed back a protest. Magnus looked at his profile, letting his eyes linger on him while his were focused on the building in front of them.

He liked being so close. The man had something familiar, and made him feel steady somehow. For the umpteenth time he wondered what was behind the mask, and he came to the conclusion that the man was probably beautiful. His frame looked perfect against the faint light of the city, the lines of his jaw and nose clear under the tight black mask. His lips, the part he saw clearly, were just the right pink and pressed shut, ever so appealing. His eyes had a fire in them that made Magnus’ stomach flip.

“What about you? Got a special someone to come back to?”

“I got rejected today,” Magnus said, and froze immediately after. Shadow was the first person he confessed it to. Maybe it really was easier to talk behind the mask. “I wanted to be angry at him, but I couldn’t bring myself to.”

Shadow looked speechless. If it was because he wasn’t expecting from him to share something so private or because he admitted the person was a _him_ as well, telling him they were more alike than it seemed, Magnus didn’t know. It apparently was neither.

“You asked someone out? Really?” he whispered in disbelief, eyes still fixed in front of him, refusing to meet the other’s eyes. “Why?”

Magnus scoffed. “What kind of a question is that? Because I like him,” he sighed, more fondly than intended. “He’s just… he’s so…”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Shadow added quickly. “I mean… you have a second life, a secret identity. How could you do something like that? You’ll have to build a relationship out of a lie. He’ll never know you for who you are, never get to see a part of you. I wouldn’t do that to someone I like. It’s unfair.”

“We all have to live a little,” Magnus said. “Besides, if things go well, I could tell him perhaps. If he’s, you know, the one.”

“That’s too high of a price to bear for someone else.”

“The right man wouldn’t care.”

Shadow scoffed. “This conversation is pointless anyway. I have too many responsibilities to date anyone, and your man rejected you.”

Hearing the words _your man_ referring to Alec made his heart ache. “Thanks for reminding me, by the way,” Magnus said bitterly, then he heard a buzzing sound, and Shadow touched his ear, probably an earphone.

He briefly nodded. “How much time do I have?” he asked under his breath, and Magnus furrowed his brows in confusion, not that Shadow could see it behind the mask. “Thanks, I owe you one. Yes, I will. Love you too,” he said, then he touched his ear again and turned to look at Magnus for the first time since he first sat down on the rooftop. “We have to go.”

“We have to go? Go where?”

Shadow looked at him in exasperation. “What exactly do you think we were doing?”

“Having an heart to heart?”

“We were waiting. I have a mole. They disconnected the security cameras. Come on, we have twenty minutes to get in and find what we’re looking for, if something even exists.”

“You have a mole? In the mayor’s office?”

“White Knight told you we used to be close to him. We still have contacts with some of his staff.”

Magnus grinned and jumped up, holding out his hand to the other man. “Well, let’s not waste time then.”

To his surprise, the man took it. One second later, Magnus had portalled them on the street beneath. He was expecting for Shadow to stagger for a while, like everybody did the first time they used a portal, ears buzzing and stomach flipping, but he looked steady, even if his eyes were wide and a bit surprised. _Of course,_ Magnus thought, _superhuman_.

“Remind me not to take your hand ever again,” Shadow hissed, then closed his eyes. “Three, two, one…”

All the streetlights switched off at the same time. 

“If someone’s looking out of the window they won’t see us. Let’s get in.” Shadow whispered, and crossed the street so fast and silent that for a few moments he disappeared and Magnus thought he just teleported in front of the City Hall. He quickly followed him just as he was forcing the keyhole with a knife. 

“Please, darling. There’s no need to,” he said, half fond and half amused, and with a snap of his fingers the door clicked open.

“You’ve been more useful than my brother so far,” Shadow commented, and they quickly entered the building.

“I’d say I’m honoured but _more useful than your brother_ is probably not much,” he said, and Shadow laughed. 

Magnus followed him not without difficulty, his magic lighting up the place like blue torches, Shadow a blurry figure in front of him that walked straight to the office like he knew the place. He probably did.

“So what are your superpowers, except for shooting arrows and being smooth?”

“Do you think I’m smooth?” Shadow asked with amusement.

“Really? Smoothness is your second name.”

“And I thought it was G-” he said, then froze in shock. “You cheap bastard, I nearly said my name!”

“Cheap bastard? I’m offended, you did all by yourself!”

“Nothing too exciting, by the way,” he said, turning left and entering an empty corridor. Magnus didn’t get what he was referring to at first. “My powers, I mean. The basics. Enhanced senses, but not as much as White Knight does. Strength, but not as much as With Knight does. Speed, but not as much as White Knight does. And accuracy,”

“Let me guess, not as much as White Knight does.”

Shadow shook his head. “Oh no, this is my speciality. White Knight is a goof. And I can be still and silent, more than everyone else. That’s why I can…”

“Fade in the night like a beautiful black feather carried by the wind?”

“Kinda. Oh, and stamina.”

Magnus blinked, trying to keep his mind straight. “Stamina? Really? One of your super powers his super _stamina_? You’re not saying this only to be sexy?”

Shadow turned to face him and smirked. “Really. But I’m glad if it is.”

“Doesn’t sound like basics to me.”

Magnus heard Shadow sigh as he took the stairs. It was hard to keep himself together looking at him from behind, going up the stairs like a goddamn ballet dancer. 

_Do you think I’m smooth?_ Magnus remembered and almost laughed out loud. 

“It does when your brother is stronger than you, and faster, and has wings that let him fly,” he said, “or when your new super friend can do literally anything with the snap of his fingers including setting people on fucking fire.”

Magnus smiled to himself at the word _friend_ , then shook his head. “I can’t do anything. For starters, I am not discreet at all. And I can’t shoot shit, I’d miss a ten floors building within a three feet distance”

“That’s impossible,” Shadow complained, “Besides, you don’t need to be discreet or shoot arrows when you can teleport and shove people against the wall with a single gesture,” he said, and when he opened the umpteenth door suddenly stopped, letting him go first. “Please, the honour is all yours!”

“Gentleman,” Magnus said with a smile, getting in what looked like the mayor’s office. 

Magnus’ magic scanned the room briefly. “There shouldn’t be microphones. You sure your mole deactivated the cameras?”

Shadow nodded. “Dead sure.”

Magnus summoned his hard disk and sat quickly at the desk, switching on the computer. Shadow started to open all the desk drawers, snapping pictures of all the documents he found interesting, and putting them back exactly how he found them.

“It’s true, he asked the police to stand back if demon attacks occurred. And the press too, he threatened them not to write about it. It’s all in the emails.” Magnus whispered, and glanced a look at Shadow. His expression was unreadable but Magnus thought he was probably feeling miserable. He was there to prove himself the Lightwoods didn’t have anything to do with all that and it was turning out it was the opposite.

“Shit!” Magnus heard Shadow hiss out loud, and quickly turned to look back at him.

“It’s Claw. I thought he was… I thought he was dead.” 

In one of the drawers there was a file containing informations about some kind of serum, they didn’t understand what the notes meant, they were not biologists, but the name written on the file was very clear. _Valentine Morgensten._

“Oh no. Oh no, no, no,” Magnus whispered, taking the document in his hand. Valentine Morgensten was the real name of Claw, a supervillain that nearly ended the world in the nineties. He had signed a blood oath with a greater demon – which one it was still unknown –, and nearly surrendered the world to the demons. A police officer and former friend, Lucian, had killed him twenty years ago, ending the war. 

“Maybe it’s old, and he kept it anyway,” Shadow suggested, his voice weak.

Magnus shook his head and showed him the date on the top left of the paper. 02/15/2020.

“Fuck.”

“I’ll save everything in my hard disk, take a picture and put it back where you found it. We need to get out of here,” Magnus said, and Shadow couldn’t but do exactly what he asked.

“I have to go, I have to tell White Knight. We have to come up with a plan. Do you think… do you think we should tell everyone about it? Make it public?”

“We’ll think about it. Now let’s go, I don’t like being here.”

They got out just in time, the city lights flickering back on with a buzz. 

“I’m sorry for what we found, I know you were hoping for the opposite” Magnus whispered, looking up at where Shadow was the moment before. The street was empty.

“Don’t be sorry,” the night spoke, and Magnus understood the man was hiding again, “you were right. And now we have something to work on.”

“I would rather not,” he said, he didn’t know why it was so important for him to let Shadow understand he didn’t like that he was upset.

“Good night Druid,” the night said, the voice fainter, like he had just put more space between them. “I hope you’ll be able to sleep well tonight.”

A moment passed, and even if he didn’t see him leave, Magnus knew he was finally alone. 

That night he didn’t sleep well at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter’s title comes from “shape of you” by Ed Sheeran


	4. When the mind plays its tricks, the heart knows the answer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one with the supervillain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is platonic grooming a thing? Well, if it wasn't it is now, #sorrynotsorry

“I told you we couldn’t be sure they weren’t involved,” Jace said, his voice vibrant with worry.

“This is not a  _ I told you so  _ moment, so stop it,” Alec huffed, rolling his eyes.

It was a Sunday morning, that meant the coffee shop was closed all day and they could rest and do their research at home. They were in their shared apartment, Jace’s wings out of his back stretched on plain sight, taking most of the small space in their kitchen. He was standing in front of Alec, giving him his back, while Alec sat on a chair close behind and calmly groomed his feathers. 

“I know you still want to find some good in them, but I’ve never forgiven them for what they did to you. None of this surprises me,” Jace said, all his muscles relaxed, as Alec’s skilled fingers worked on his wings in silence.

They were used to this, and Alec had always liked to do this for his brother, it made him feel useful, necessary, important. Jace couldn’t do this by himself and he didn’t trust anyone with his wings like this. Izzy had done it once or twice in the past, when Alec was sick or injured, but it had always been different between them; they both had powers, they were used to fight together, to watch each other’s backs; they were used to trust each other with their lives.

So Jace closed his eyes and tried to get comfier, a moment of domestic bliss warming up his chest despite everything that was happening in their lives.

“Don’t move,” Alec complained, “I’m gonna hurt you if you keep doing this. Just stay still.”

“Never,” Jace mumbled, his mind fuzzy.

“You’re gonna be the death of me, you brat,” Alec sighed, but there wasn’t heat in his voice.

“Not that, I  _ can _ stay still, I will. I meant you’d never hurt me.”

“You’re overconfident.”

“I trust you.”

“I know.”

“So why don’t you trust me, too?” Jace asked, his tone suddenly blank, and Alec stopped for a moment.

“What do you mean? Of course I do. I trust you with my life.”

“I can’t believe you broke in his office without me."

“You were with Clary, you know I don’t want to bother you when you’re with her. Every time I do you become insufferable for a week.”

Jace scoffed, but he knew he was right. “Fine. You could have waited ‘till today, then. I’m free tonight.”

“There’s no rest for the good,” Alec whispered, back at work. “Or the wicked.”

“Oh, come on bud-!” Jace started to protest, but Alec interrupted him.

“ _ Besides,  _ Izzy was at home with Robert keeping an eye on him, and she was on a call with me the whole time, so I knew I wasn’t risking to get caught. And I wasn’t alone either, Druid was there.”

Jace groaned. “You know this is even worse, you can’t just get all the fun with another super if I’m not there! It’s unfair!”

“If it makes you feel better, it wasn’t fun at all. I hated it. I hated being there again, I hated I had to look into his stuff like a goddamn spy, I hated that I found what I didn't want to find, it was awful. And I would have wanted you there but it couldn't wait and you know it,” he said, in a low voice, cutting the tip of one of the white wings. The touch was so soft Jace didn’t even notice.

“I’m sorry,” Jace whispered, then he added “how’s our favourite sister doing?”

“The little freak is fine,” said Alec, a fond smile on his lips. “She said she misses us. Max is fine too.”

“We should go visit sometimes,” Jace sighed.

“ _ You  _ should go visit. You’ll be welcome, I’m sure.”

“Bullshit. We’ll ask Izzy to tell us when they’re not at home and we’ll go together. Or we’ll ask them to come to the shop when we’re both present.”

“Like Maryse would ever allow them to go-”

Jace flinched abruptly and Alec nearly cut him on the base of one of the feathers. “What the hell Jace?! I almost cut your wing off! Be careful!” he said, dropping the scissors immediately. “Hey, what is it?” he asked next, starting to worry.

Jace was squeezing his eyes shut, his hands holding his temples, and he was groaning in pain. 

“Jace! Jace, can you hear me? Say something! Come on, Jace!”

“I hear-, it’s so high it’s making me deaf!” he whined, trying to blink out the pain.

“What do you hear? What happened?”

“A horde. Raveners, I think. Bigger than the last one. There’s someone… I think…”

“Someone?” Alec was holding his shoulders tightly from behind, trying to ground him. “Who is it?”

Jace was like this, his enhanced senses – more enhanced than Alec’s – always sensed the demons approaching their dimension, but usually it wasn’t  _ that _ bad. 

“I don’t know, I don’t recognise the voice but it’s… it’s  _ familiar _ ,” he croaked, then he tensed again and opened his eyes. Alec was still holding him, looking at him in stunned silence, eyes wide. 

Jace tilted his head on the side to glance a look behind, at his brother. He looked scared, and that terrified Alec. White Knight was  _ never  _ scared. 

“We have to go.  _ Now _ . They're- they’re a lot. And the police apparently won’t help us.”

“Where?” 

“Our-  _ their _ spare house in Staten Island.”

“Fuck. It’s the middle of the day!”

“I know, but we have to go. You’ll have to be extra careful, I don’t want anyone to see you.”

“If we’re lucky everybody will stay inside as soon as they’ll see the raveners,” Alec said with a nod. 

“You’ll fly with me,” Jace said, it wasn’t a question.

Alec groaned. “You can’t mean that. You know I hate when we do it!”

“We can’t risk you running around the city in your black suit in the morning, you’ll be on every newspaper before we could even say  _ iblis _ ”

“I can be discreet even without the help of the night, you know.”

Jace turned to face him, his brows slightly furrowed, his eyes cold. “I don’t want to be the first to get there. I need you.” 

Whatever Jace had heard when the demons passed the bridge to their dimension it was clear it had shaken him like nothing before. Alec sighed. “Fine. I’ll fly with you.”

Changing in their super suits was quick, it always was. Alec found the process reassuring, it helped him become Shadow, the black of the suit merging with his pale skin and turning him into someone that counted, and at the same time someone that did not exist. Shadow helped the city, but nobody knew about him, it was like living between a dream and the wake, like being in some sort of purgatory with bleeding knuckles and demons always ready to bite you back in the ass. 

The last thing he put on him, as always, was his mask that covered the most of his face. It wasn’t hard to breath in, and it didn’t disturb his vision, it was like a second skin, comfy and perfectly shaped. His sister designed it after all, and she never failed. 

When he got out of his room Jace – usually the slowest of them – was already waiting for him, his white and gold suit glowing under the sunrays; it was a new sight, they never went out before the sunset.

Alec had to admit that the morning light really did justice to his brother’s superhuman looks, and that the same could not be said for him. He looked down at himself and raised a brow; his plain black suit was nothing like the angelic look White Knight was wearing; his black bow paled in comparison with the flaming sword that rested on White Knight’s side, glimmering, beautiful and powerful as it was. 

But once again, it wasn’t surprising. He could never compare with Jace, everyone knew this. 

“Come on, don’t make a fuss. You’ve got no one to impress,” Jace said like he just read his mind, then turned on his back and gestured him to join. “We don’t have all day.”

Alec sighed. He usually never cared about his appearance, he didn’t care much about his looks, and clothes, and this sort of things, not that he usually hung out much with anything that wasn’t his work robes. And he loved his bow, he loved his suit, they were deadly, practical, useful. But it was hard not to notice he was so  _ less  _ than Jace in every way possible when they stood side by side like that. And it was impossible not to be bothered by it at least a little, everyone would have been. 

He sighed again but approached the other boy hugging his neck from behind, and with a smooth movement grabbed Jace’s tights with his legs. “I feel so stupid.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, it’s fun. Clary loves it.”

“Oh thank you, that makes me feel  _ so much  _ better,” he whispered, and if sarcasm could kill they would have both been dead by now.

Jace opened the window and jumped on the windowsill easily even with the extra weight on his back. It wasn’t bothered by it in the slightest, Alec knew he could carry much more weight with no struggle ; Alec himself could easily jump down the window with Jace on his back, and he was weaker than his brother. 

“You ready?” Jace asked, his voice shaking only a little. 

_ No,  _ thought Alec, but he saw the way his brother had flinched before, the way he looked scared, the way he had asked Alec to come with him like he never did before, so he said “I’m always ready.”

And White Knight jumped. 

The sight of the city beneath them, the buildings shining in the sunlight, the cars stuck in traffic and the bright yellow taxis, the rivers of people flowing rapidly on the streets, everything was stunning. 

Jace flew high, higher than normal because he didn’t want someone to spot them, his big white wings carrying them in the sky, enjoying the cool morning air on the just groomed feathers. 

“I don’t know how you can live without this every day,” Jace said, going fast and steady towards their target.

“I enjoy having my feet on solid ground, thank you very much,” he replied, but deep down liked this. He didn’t like being carried of course, it made him feel inferior and dumb like many other things did, but he liked the view a lot. Who wouldn’t?

“You’re weird,” said Jace, and Alec did not reply.

There were so many things happening these days he felt like everything was getting out of control. Both Shadow and Alec have had all their truths shattered in front of them like a broken glass. 

Robert and Maryse weren’t only homophobic assholes, no, the people he grew up with, people who fed him, loved him, sang him lullabies at night were siding with Claw, summoning demons, plotting against the whole city. Shadow was no longer a secret, someone that wasn’t Jace or Izzy knew about it now, and the man could break his trust at any moment, he didn’t owe Alec anything; he knew he shouldn’t have trusted Druid with his existence – the most important information they had. Then there was Alec, and Magnus that finally asked him out, and Alec that said that it was difficult, because it was, and possibly ruined everything between them, and there was what Druid told him the night before, that  _ the right man wouldn’t care  _ and  _ we all have to live a little _ , and Jace who sacrificed everything for him after his coming out and Alec in return didn’t even want to go out with a guy he liked, he understood like Jace sometimes could feel like they did all they did for  _ nothing. _

Everything was starting to crumble right before him and Alec was scared, Shadow was too.

White Knight landed on the rooftop of the building with a soft thud. The city looked normal, there was nothing out of place, and no sign of a ravener horde around. The streets were crowded but no one was looking up or paying attention to them, Alec jumped off Jace’s back with a vague sense of relief and lowered himself crouching down to avoid anyone’s gaze if for some reason someone was going to look up any time soon.

“Are you sure this is the place?” Alec asked, it was a building their father owned, it had some old offices and now it was no use, he just kept it for tax reasons and to keep some documents, or at least that was what they knew.

“Dead sure. I sensed them. This is the place.”

“Well, I see no demon horde. And I don’t hear it either, raveners are not exactly subtle.”

“I know what I heard, Shadow. They  _ have _ to be here,” Jace hissed, and Alec sighed.

“Okay, cap. Lead the way, then.”

Jace took his sword in his hand like he was waiting to do it since they landed – knowing him he probably was –, he looked at it with an amused smile on his lips, weaker than usual but still confident, and then lowered it straight in the roof. 

The concrete under their feet trembled, the flaming blade cutting easily everything that had the misfortune of being on its way, and a relatively large portion of the roof crumbled loudly on the floor beneath. 

Alec glanced down at the road and saw some people with their noses up, hearing the mess they were making.

“Could you please be less loud? Did you really have to destroy the roof? Couldn’t you hit the door instead?”

“I could have, but where’s the fun in that?” Jace asked, jumping in the hole and finally entering the building.

“Maryse is gonna be  _ so  _ pissed,” Alec mumbled, quickly following him behind, landing elegant as a cat, steady on his feet.

“I know,” Jace said, with a proud grin.

“There’s no one here,” Alec complained, at least now he was in the empty building so he didn’t have to hide from strangers’ eyes. “You were wrong.”

“I was not,” Jace said, with a frown. 

Alec knew his brother had a great sense of hearing and was particularly good at sensing demons, but there was no sound in there, and they both should have been able to hear a faint breath if a human was inside, let alone a whole demon horde.

“There  _ must _ be something,” Jace pleaded, and Alec reluctantly nodded. He was never really able to say no to him since they were children, so the least he could do was having a look in the building.

_ He made you come here for nothing. He believes he knows everything but he doesn’t. He’s not the boss of you.  _ A voice said in his mind, and Alec tensed. 

“What?” Jace turned to face him, his brown and green eyes wide and worried. Alec felt the strong urge to punch him in the face and he nearly did, but after a moment of hesitation he shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut. 

“Nothing, it’s just… my head hurts.”

_ He doesn’t care. He wants to explore the building and he’s going to, even if you’re not feeling good,  _ the voice said, and Alec groaned.

“Shut up!” he said, and leaned on the nearby wall. 

Jace was looking at Alec again with a frown. He made a grimace, like he just heard something he didn’t like in the slightest and said “stop making a scene. We can’t afford to be weak.”

His voice was bitter and his eyes suddenly cold. Alec immediately understood what was going on with him.

“No. Stop. He’s talking to you too, don’t listen to him. Don’t. He’s trying to make us fight.”

_ But he  _ _ wants _ _ you two to fight. Why do you think you’re resisting me and he’s not? He doesn’t like you, how could he? You’re dead weight to him. _

Alec felt his conscience slipping away slightly, and a feeling of freezing cold fingers rummaging in his mind. “You really think I’m weak, don’t you?” he asked, his voice broken.

His brother’s cold expression faltered. “No, of course I…” then he froze. “You’re doing it on purpose, are you?”

_ He thinks it's your fault, he doesn’t trust you.  _

“What the hell, Jace?!”

“No names!” he roared, and pointed the firing sword at him. “Are you insane?”

“ _ You  _ are insane! You’re talking nonsense!”

“You’re trying to annoy me on purpose, you want us to leave. You don’t want me to be right. You keep saying there’s no one here because if there really are demons then it’s another proof that I am always right and you’re always wrong and I don’t even know why I still carry you around!” 

_ He really thinks he’s better than you. After all the times you had his back. After all the times you did all the dirty work for him and he got all the praise and the attention.  _

“You ungrateful bastard. Take that back.” __

“Or else?” the flaming sword was burning brighter than ever, pointing at him.

_ He’s gonna hit you. He hates you. You should hit him first. You could. You’re fast and your bow never misses.  _

“Or else…” Alec’s hand flew to his side, where his bow hanged from his belt. He touched it with his fingertips, then stopped. He could never do that. There was something wrong with all this. “Or else… nothing I guess. I would never hurt you on purpose, you know that.”

As soon as he heard his words, Jace dropped the sword on the ground like it just burned him. He looked at his hands in horror. “What’s happening?” 

“We have to get out of here.  _ Now. _ ” 

“Yes,” he said, opening his wings, ready to go back up the hole he just formed. “No. Wait. I don’t know.”

“Don’t listen,” Alec pleaded. “These are  _ not  _ your thoughts. You’re not the one thinking them, it’s not your head.”

_ Like he’s even going to listen to you. He never does.  _

“I said shut up!” Alec yelled, holding his head, and then a door opened, and there was a man laughing, with a huge Silver mask and a grey suit, followed by two people Alec knew far too well. 

“This is really funny. Their minds are so amusing, you did a good job with them.”

Maryse Lightwood shrugged. “They were always messed up. We’ve nothing to do with that.”

Robert shrugged in agreement.

“Mom? Dad?” Jace asked, blinking in confusion. 

“White Knight, no! It’s him! The man, he’s Claw.” Valentine Morgensten, the world’s most dangerous telepath, of course. “He’s in our minds, keep him out!”

“I’m afraid you can’t,” Claw said, his voice soft and reassuring.

“What do you want from us?” Jace asked, his voice weaker than it ever sounded. 

Alec wanted to reach for his bow but found out he couldn't bring himself to. 

_ Not on my watch, kid,  _ he heard deep down in his brain, and a faint pain started rising in his skull.

“Jonathan, my beloved, you wound me. You know who I am, you know what I want, don’t you?”

“What is he talking about? What is it?” 

“He can’t remember,” said Robert, “he was too young.”

“He remembers. I can tell. He’s an open book for me, always was,” the man said with a charming smile. “Right, Jonathan?”

“Don’t touch him,” Alec hissed. “Don’t you dare touch my brother.”

“But he’s not your brother, right? Let me be more clear,” Claws said, and with a fluent movement he took his mask of. 

Alec frowned, he had no idea about who this man was; Valentine looked like an average middle age man to him, nothing special. Apparently, Jace was not on the same page.

“No,” he whined, “no, it’s a trick. You’re dead.”

“I  _ was _ ,” he said, and Jace stepped back.

“What’s wrong? What are you making him see?” Alec asked.

“The truth,” Maryse said plainly.

Alec felt so overwhelmed with fear that he didn’t hear the door opening ten floors under his feet, nor he heard the sound of a man rushing up the stairs, his enhanced hearing be damned.

“He’s Michael Wayland. He’s…” Jace whispered, “he’s my-”

“Micheal Wayland? Micheal Wayland as  _ your biological father _ ?” he asked in disbelief, and Jace nodded. “He's… he’s not. He’s Valentine Morgensten.”

“I’m both. And also, shut up. I don’t need you, I only want him. I’ll kill you if you’ll keep on being this annoying.”

Jace was breathing fast, his eyes lost. “This one is not tamed,” he whispered, “it’s  _ broken _ . You ruined it,” his gaze was unfocused, like he was being shown something that wasn’t there.

“Whatever you’re doing, stop,” Alec said, he didn’t want to beg but he knew for him he could. “You’re hurting him!”

“Come to me, I know you want to. You’re just like I am,” the man’s voice was smooth and confident.

Jace stepped forward.

“No! You’re not, you don’t want to go! Don’t let it get to you, it’s a trick!” Alec forced himself to grab his brother by the arm. “Mom! Dad! He’s  _ your son _ !”

“He’s not my son, and neither are you,” Robert said, his voice cold like frozen steel. “Not anymore.”

Before Alec could say something more to his parents, someone interrupted them.

“Claw? _Really_?” a voice said in disbelief, coming from behind. Alec didn’t have enough time to turn around and see who it was, because someone was pulling him and Jace close, “Okay, enough, I’m outta this.”

One moment later they weren’t in the office building anymore. 

Alec felt the cold feeling that was rasping his mind snap out all of a sudden, leaving him blank. He heard himself collapsing with his knees on the floor, and saw his brother down with him, his face in his hands. 

“You’re welcome, by the way,” he heard, and tried to focus on his surroundings, still unable to stand. He was still holding Jace’s arm, and squeezed it for comfort. 

“Druid?” he croaked, recognition in his voice as he noticed the place he was in, the now familiar secret base the man owned. “Thank you.”

Druid sighed, and Alec finally saw him. His mask was intensely blue under the sunlight that came from the window, and his golden eyes were shining. They were more beautiful now than ever, daytime really did him justice. 

“You’re the Lightwoods’ sons. You didn’t tell me,” he said, annoyance in his voice as he spoke, but his eyes betrayed concern.

“It’s not like we know your parents either,” Jace finally spoke. Hearing his voice – even if still weak – and his overconfident self back was music to Alec’s ears.

“I see you’re feeling better,” Druid commented bitterly.

“I’m sorry, but we told you we used to be close with them,” Alec reasoned.

Druid scoffed. “Sounds a bit like an understatement.”

Alec sighed and tried to stand up. He finally let go of Jace’s arm, but felt a hand in his and suddenly Druid was helping him on his feet. “Thank you,” he said again, then added, “if you had a father like mine, you’d want to hide it, too.”

He saw a flash of something deep, like pain, surprise, self consciousness, burning in Druid’s eyes for a moment, then it was gone. “I think you’re right,” he whispered, offering him a small smile for the first time that morning.

“Quit with the doe eyes, Shadow,” White Knight grunted, struggling to stand up on his own. Alec gasped outraged and refused to help him. “We have more important things to do.”

“I don’t-, I’m not-, you’re-” Alec babbled, the skin on his neck and around his mouth became flushed. He stepped back, far from the other man, shaking his head. “You’re impossible.”

Druid glared at Jace in annoyance. “Here, take this,” he said, handing his flaming sword, “try not to leave a seraph blade behind next time, I won’t summon it back again.”

“Thanks,” Jace groaned hesitantly, rolling his eyes, then his his face turned serious. “He was my father! My  _ real  _ father!” he said, raising his hands incredulous, staring at Alec like he could change what he saw only with the power of his mind. Alec wished he could.

“It has to be a trick. It has to. It can’t be true,” he said, trying to put some sense in him.

“I thought Lightwood was the father of you both,” said Druid, “you called him  _ dad _ .”

“Lightwood  _ is  _ our father,” Alec said, “but White Knight’s adopted. His biological father’s name is Michael Wayland, my parents’ bestfriend. When he died, we took him with us. But that man wasn’t Michael Wayland. He was Valentine Morgensten. He is not your father, White Knight. It was just a trick.”

“You don’t understand, Shadow. I grew up with him. It’s him. Now I understand so many things… he was crazy, man. It’s… it’s him. Please, you have to trust me. I know it’s him.”

Alec had no doubt about what to do then. “I do. I trust you.”

“So your adoptive father is our greedy demon summoning mayor and your biological father is the most dangerous supervillain this country had ever faced who’s just back from the dead. And I thought  _ I  _ had father issues,” Druid joked.

“Stop it,” the bitter scold didn’t come from White Knight, but from Shadow. “This is serious.” 

Druid rolled his eyes but didn’t protest.

“So what do we do?” Jace asked, and silence followed.

“I really don’t know. I don’t know how to deal with Claw, I was able to bring you here because he wasn’t expecting me but… I don’t know,” Druid sighed.

“Thank God they were never interested in where we live or work. At least they can't find us!” Alec commented. 

“Really,” Jace sighed, folding his wings in his back and falling on one of the chairs near the desk. 

“Okay, so, how much do we know now?” Druid asked, trying to clear his mind, starting to pace in the room.

“There are demons showing up in Lightwood’s old buildings, Robert asked the police not to intervene and he’s trying to keep the voices about this under control; there was a file with Claw’s name on it in his office with a study about a super serum; they attracted us in one of the buildings making us think there was a ravener horde, but it was a trap; they wanted to take White Knight,” Alec said, then he stopped suddenly, looking at Druid and tilting his head. “How did you know we were there?” 

Druid held his gaze not without some struggle. “I didn’t. I sensed something was passing the bridge between hell and our dimension, and I followed it all the way there.”

Alec frowned, even if the other two couldn’t see that. “That doesn’t make sense. There were no demons, the opening of the bridge wasn’t real, it was a trap meant for us. And it couldn’t be a trap for you too, they clearly weren’t expecting you to be there. So why did you sense it?”

Jace tensed. “The bridge wasn’t a trap, it was real,” he whispered. “The horde wasn’t, but the bridge was.”

“What?” Alec asked, “if the horde didn’t pass, why did they open the bridge?”

“For him,” Jace said, the portion of his face visible with the mask was pale and tense. “He just came back from hell.”

“No,” Druid said, and for the first time Alec had known him, he sounded truly unnerved. “It can’t be. Only a greater demon could do something like that, bringing someone back to life from hell, and not even all of them. I know only two greater demons that could, and trust me, we don’t want them involved.”

“You have to admit it makes sense,” Alec indulged.

“No. I refuse to believe it.”

“Why would Robert and Maryse side with Valentine Morgensten and a greater demon, anyway?” Jace asked, fidgeting on the chair.

“They don’t. He’s controlling them, that’s why they were there. He didn’t need them, they were there because he has to keep an eye on them, to whisper in their minds like a freak,” Alec spat, with a grimace.

“I don’t know, they sounded just like themselves,” Jace said, the bitterness in his voice sharper than the blade of his sword. “What they said was more or less the same as the last time we saw them.”

“To quote our new friend,” Alec whispered, sitting on the desk and pressing his elbows on his knees, cupping his face with his hands, “ _I refuse to believe it._ ”

“We can refuse to believe all we want,” said Jace, “but I’m afraid the truth is going to bite us in the ass soon.”

“Just great,” Alec hissed, uncomfortably watching his knuckles. He felt Druid’s gaze on him but couldn’t bring himself to look at him.

“All right, I think we should go now, you know, to _digest_ all this shit,” Jace said, stirring and getting up from the chair. 

“Wait,” Druid said, “I was thinking you could stay here until the sun sets. You know, just to be extra safe.”

“Why not?”

“Absolutely not!”

Alec and Jace said at the same time, immediately followed by a “ _ What _ ?” from the both of them.

“Really, Shadow?” Jace asked, exasperated.

“What? You know I’m more comfortable at night, I don’t want to leave just now!”

“I’m not spending the whole day with Harry Potter here, no way. And I can’t think straight right now, I need a bath and to put my mask off, and relax.”

“You’re such a princess!”

“You only say this because you want to keep flirting but I'm not listening to your pining  _ even _ here.”

“You know, you can go if you want White Knight,” Druid suggested, “I think your brother and I will do just fine without you.”

Alec turned to face Druid, the part of his face visible was redder than his liking. “I’m not… I’m not flirting. Don’t listen to him, please.”

“Well, I have to admit I am a bit disappointed, then,” Druid said, but his voice sounded playful.

“Let’s go, Shadow,” Jace groaned, and Alec jumped off the desk with a sigh.

“Yeah, now we really should,” he hissed. 

“We’ll meet here tomorrow night as the sun sets,” Druid said, “and you’ll better have something!”

“ _ You  _ better have something!” Jace complained, and Alec pushed him forward with an eye roll.

“Hum, Shadow?” Druid asked before they could get outside, and Alec turned slightly.

“Yeah?” 

“Is it too much to ask, if I tell you not to intervene if something else comes out tonight? You gave me quite a scare earlier.”

Alec blinked in surprise, totally caught off guard. He recovered quickly. “I’m afraid it is. Supers don’t have days off.”

“I understand,” the man said, with a small smile. “If something happens, I’ll be there, too.”

Druid’s concern had touched him more than he liked to admit. “I know,” Alec said, “see you around.”

“See you around, Shadow. _Aziraphale_ ,” he said, directed to Jace. 

“ _Houdini_ ,” Jace replied immediately.

“You’re both so childish, Alec complained, and finally pushed Jace out, following close behind.

There were no more emergencies that day and night, and if Alec felt a lit disappointed because he didn’t get to see Druid again then no one needed to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! We made it halfway! How is it going so far?  
> Tomorrow I’m going to post a bit later than usual because I have something to arrange, but don't worry, I’ll keep on with at least one chap a day as promised :*


	5. The course of true love (and first dates)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The title is from the chapter of Alec’s and Magnus’ first date in the books. I think it’s enough of a summary itself.  
> (Also it’s hilarious and hella romantic so read it please, it’s from the collection called ‘The Bane Chronicles’, one of the last chapters if I remember correctly)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yesterday you’ve got only Shadow/Druid interactions so I have to make up to you with some more Alec/Magnus in this one
> 
> TW: brief mentions of suicide (a ‘blink and you'll miss it’ mention, really), canon typical homophobia

Magnus didn’t know why he was still directed to the shop. Alexander had rejected him just two days prior, and he wasn’t ready to see him again, to look at him in the eyes – eyes that always managed to make his knees weak – to let his gaze linger on his square jaw, his crooked smile, his bicep-

_Calm down Magnus, you’re doing it again._

He wasn’t ready to see him again knowing he couldn’t have him. And yet, here he was. Standing in front of the coffee shop, waiting to finally get in. 

In the last two days too many things happened and he felt his chest tight and his heart heavy. 

First, Alec didn’t want to go out with him; Magnus had finally admitted it out loud to Shadow and had felt even more miserable; he found out his mayor was indeed a criminal as he suspected; he had evidences that the most dangerous genocidal criminal of his generation was still around; he actually _met_ said genocidal criminal; his new potential crush was the son of his criminal mayor and antagonist and brother to the son of said genocidal criminal and antagonist; most of all, the day before he had asked Shadow not to get in trouble and showed him some interest.

He was a mess. 

Truth was, _Idris_ coffee shop was the only thing that was currently stable in his life beside his workplace and he hated that office with every fiber of his being. Truth was, the coffee shop made him feel normal, even if for one hour a day. Truth was, he missed Alexander and he was a total sucker for him even if he just rejected him.

He muttered a “fuck it,” and opened the door.

As soon as he saw his man behind the counter serving a man on his thirties, his heart froze and he both thanked his balls and cursed himself at the same time for his decision to be there. 

_I am so fucked._

He tried to look nonchalant, and ignored the slightly panicked look on Alexander's eyes as soon as he saw him. His brother was probably in the backroom, nowhere in sight.

“Magnus, hi. I… I didn’t know if you’d come today,” the words, shy and hesitant made his heart flutter. 

He repressed a flinch and tried to act normal. “And why so?” He asked, managing his best smile.

“Listen, Magnus, I-”

“There’s no need to talk about it, really,” he said, feeling his cheeks get uncomfortably warmer. That was a real shame. Magnus Bane did not flush. _Ever_. “Actually, I’d rather not.”

Alec ignored him, as he often did. Magnus thought it was maddening, in a good way. “My shift ends at seven.”

The line was so unexpected he found himself at loss of words, it didn’t occur often. “What?”

“If the offer’s still open. I mean… _screw it._ I want to go out with you. There’s nothing I want more. I understand if you’re pissed, if you changed your mind, if you think I’m inconsistent…” he squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You were right, I’m not _out,_ ” he said, like he meant something else, “it’s difficult for me but I want to go out with you, if you’ll have me.”

Magnus blinked, stunned, his mind completely blank. He didn’t say a word for a few moments, and when Alexander started to become bright red and opened his mouth again he knew he had to say something, or he was going to ruin everything between them _again_.

So he said the only sensible thing he could possibly say.

“Of course I’ll take you out. Of course the offer still stands,” he said breathless, and tried to recollect himself.

Suddenly, there was no Robert Lightwood anymore. There was no Claw, no Asmodeus, there was even no Shadow, because even if he had a huge crush on the guy he was no Alexander. And that was precisely why he liked him so much. Because with him he wasn’t a famous CEO, he wasn’t Druid the fearless superhero, he wasn’t the cursed son of a greater demon, he was just a normal man with his breath panting crazy, lost in a pair of deep brown eyes. – _those eyes have something familiar, what’s wrong, what’s wrong what’s wrong, what’s_ – It was priceless. It was everything he ever needed.

“Fine,” Alec said, then cleared his throat. “So, how can I help you today?”

The answer Magnus managed to give him was less sincere and more safe for work than intended, but it worked. “I think a large caramel latte with cinnamon would be great, thank you,” he said, and smiled for the first time in what felt like ages.

Alec looked like he was doing what he could to be as slow as possible serving him the drink, making the customers slightly annoyed, and when Magnus took it and sat at one of the empty tables, he felt his gaze on him every time he wasn’t busy with clients. 

Jace appeared too, the second he had to part from the counter, Magnus suspected he had been hiding in the backroom to give them a moment alone. The dude wasn’t so bad, after all.

He opened his laptop anche checked his emails like he always did. The day before he didn’t have the chance to do so, too busy researching for his other activity, both trying to find some sense in the evidences they had and trying to find out the real identities of his new friends. 

What he had found online wasn’t helpful, apparently the Lightwoods had decided to keep their kids out of the spotlight. He only knew there were four of them, one of which was adopted, and in recent documents only two were mentioned. He didn’t have anything beside that, no names, no age, no gender, least of all an appearance. 

Except for a single picture. A picture of two small children, a boy and a girl. The girl looked like a pre schooler, the boy couldn’t be more than six. They were sitting on a bench with Maryse Lightwood, who had the little girl on his lap and was laughing. The girl was smiling and poking the boy’s cheek with her finger, the boy looking at the camera with a resigned expression, with a playful hint, and a look that said _why me?_ straight to the camera.

The children had the same silky raven hair Maryse had, and Magnus knew the little boy had to be Shadow, it had to be a picture taken before White Knight’s adoption.

Magnus had spent more than one hour looking at it trying to find some hints, unsuccessfully, ending up spending most of the time staring at the little boy’s eyes, eyes that gave him a strong sense of déjà vu.

He knew he shouldn’t have looked for any it, he should have trusted Shadow and White Knight, he had fought alongside them in the past, but they were Lightwoods after all, he could never trust them completely. 

When the start of his shift was close, he reluctantly stood up from his seat and walked to the counter, ready to pay, say his goodbyes, and leave.

“Magnus, you’re back,” Jace was out of focus, clearly thinking about something else, and was waiting near the cash.

“Hi Jem,” Magnus smiled, handing him his cash. “Where’s your brother?” he asked, as the other accepted the money he was offering.

Jace said nothing, looking at him with a raised brow.

“What? Do I have something on my face?”

“Alec’s in the kitchen, he’s making muffins,” the boy explained, “he told me to tell you you’re going to meet here when we close up, at seven. He told me to tell you tonight’s on him too.”

“Okay…? Do you really need to say it with this dreadful tone?”

“You know what he _didn’t_ tell me?”

Magnus groaned. He didn’t want to be late at work for this. “What? That you’re a nice brother? He didn’t tell you because it’s not true.”

“He didn’t tell me how much it’s difficult for him to do what he’s doing, but I know anyway.”

“I am perfectly aware of it and I appreciate it a lot, so thank you for your concern but-”

“I am really good at tracking people down, Magnus,” he whispered, leaning towards him on the counter, “don’t ruin this for him or I swear I’m going to kill you.”

“Really? The _don’t hurt my brother_ speech? I didn’t hear one since twelve grade.”

“I’m serious.”

“Your brother is in good hands, don’t worry,” said Magnus with a wink, “see you this evening then, Tracy!”

“You’re smiling,” Raphael said, dead serious, once Magnus opened his office’s door. 

“Is this _we say obviousnesses_ day? My turn, today is Monday!”

Raphael huffed, leaning on the wall, his arms crossed. “Why are you smiling? You shouldn’t be smiling.”

“What are you doing here, Raphael?” Magnus asked, getting rid of his coat and hanging it on one of the chairs.

“I work here,” the boy deadpanned.

Magnus raised a brow as to say _really?_ then a thought hit him and he smiled wide, looking at the young man with a grin. “You saw me miserable on Saturday and you came here to check on me! How thoughtful of you my friend!”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” the boy nearly yelled, proving the fact that Magnus was right. “And we’re no friends.”

Magnus tutted and sat down behind his desk with a smile. “What are you doing here now, then? You usually work from home. Everyone always asks me why I didn’t already fire you.”

“I came because I enjoyed you being miserable last time I was here. And maybe you _should_ fire me, at least I won’t have to deal with your annoying mood swings!”

“You know what, my friend? If I’ll ever have a son, I’m going to name him after you.”

“I’ll kill the brat in his sleep, and then I’ll kill you. Try me,” he said, getting off the wall and walking straight to the door. “I’m going home.”

“You know, now that you’re here you could actually get things done. You _do_ work here, after all.”

“I’d rather die,” Raphael hissed, and slammed the door closed behind him.

“He adores me,” Magnus said to himself, a smile on his lips that never left since the coffee shop. 

He didn’t know why Alec had changed his mind, but he wasn’t going to complain, that being the only good thing that happened to him in the last few days, if not weeks or months.

There were only two things that could potentially ruin how good he was feeling and they were slightly linked together. 

One, he couldn’t stay more than three hours, he had work to do, a briefing with Shadow and White Knight at ten. They had to sort things out, the summoning, the mayor, Claw, a possible – if not probable – involvement of a greater demon. 

Two, as the asshole brother of his other stupid, stupid crush had pointed out, his other stupid, stupid crush was flirting with him. He had spent the five years after Camille with an empty space in his heart waiting to be filled, and now in a short amount of time he found not one but two people he actually fancied. It was weird. Both of them with an asshole brother always ready to be a pain in the ass third wheel. 

_Guess I have a new type,_ he thought, _a brother-of-a-little-cockblock-blondie kind of type._

And it would be way easier to go out with a fellow super. A fellow super would understand him, wouldn’t get mad if he went out at night without notice, wouldn’t get mad if he was unavailable during mission, wouldn’t get mad if he ditched out on a date last minute without an explanation, all the things that Camille got mad about a lot in his last relationship, that probably would make anyone get mad in her place, they wouldn’t problems for another super. 

And there was the eyes, the eyes of the child he knew was Shadow as a young boy, the playful yet annoyed stare that reminded him of something on the back of his mind and pushed hard to go to the surface.

He shook his head in frustration. No, Jace was right. Alexander wasn’t even out with his family, and he chose to go out of his comfort zone to have a date with him, Magnus couldn’t think to someone else like that, wondering how would it be being with them. Shadow was fascinating sure, he was lethal, and he would probably understand what he was going through, but none of his missions required the level of bravery that what Alexander did this morning required.

So, when he finally found himself in front of the shop’s door waiting for _his man_ to go out, – no he wasn’t going to let that nickname drop after Shadow told him – he was an anxious mess. It was five to seven, the sun was starting to set, and he had been outside already for ten minutes, too eager to start the evening he was going to end too soon for his liking.

He already knew he was going to sulk a lot that night, and probably complain to White Knight and Shadow about the fact they interrupted his date with the most gorgeous man that had ever set foot on earth, beside himself of course. 

The last customers went out, and Magnus’ eyes kept looking at the door, holding his breath. He didn’t know why he had already invested this much on Alexander, but the fact he did was undeniable at this point.

When the man finally showed up, going out of the shop at last, and smiling at him, Magnus thanked all the gods – existent or non existent – that he face timed his friend Cat for a bit of fashion advices after work, because Alec was... well. It wasn’t like he was dressed particularly fancy, he had black jeans and a plain back shirt, but he wasn’t in his working robes for once and that shirt did _something_ to his biceps and Magnus couldn’t help himself from staring.

“Wow,” he said, flashing a smile. “I’m not used to see you without that weird pink apron. It’s a hell of an improvement.”

“Oh,” Alec muttered, looking down at him self consciously. “Yeah, right. I don’t think pink is my colour either.”

 _Every color is ‘your color’ when you’re this beautiful,_ Magnus thought, but he didn’t say it. What he said was, “Well, it didn’t stop me, did it?” and then, after a wink, “Ready to start the evening? We don’t have much time I fear. I have a really important meeting at ten.”

Alec scratched the back of his head and nodded. “Yeah, I have something at ten, too. It’s okay.”

Magnus stood still for a moment. The voice in the back of his head was screaming more than ever, but the words weren’t clear yet, so he ignored the screaming and he just offered Alec his hand. “Come on, we’re going to have some drinks.”

With his extreme surprise and pleasure, Alec took it. “I’m not much of a drinker.”

“Everybody is, with good enough company and good enough alcohol. I think you only lacked of both.”

“And you are good enough company?” Alec asked, a cocky grin blossoming on his lips. Magnus was already far gone.

“No,” he said, “I’m the best company you’re ever going to get, darling.”

Less than two blocks away there was a bar called _Hunter’s Moon_ , and apparently Alexander decided to bring him there for the night. Magnus was totally fine with the choice, he was actually glad they weren’t going to go too fancy to impress, it was just a night out to know each other and to spend some time together, that was all.

Obviously he would have been glad anywhere with him, from the most over the top italian restaurant in all of New York City, to a bench in some peripheral park sipping hot beer and eating crappy chips from the same bag. 

But it was neither. This was just a bar down the street and it was perfect. They sat together at the counter, and the girl behind it didn’t hesitate for a second when she noticed they were two men with fingers brushing and glancing _looks_ at each other. She served them a cognac and a beer and went back to work. 

_Yes, this is the best._

Alec sipped his beer and grimaced. He immediately looked at Magnus with a guilty face, and he smiled at him in amusement. Magnus had the strong impression that Alec not only wasn’t much of a drinker, he probably wasn’t a drinker at all.

“So,” Magnus said, trying to save Alec from his own embarrassment, “you said pink is not your color. I have to assume it is your brother who picked it.”

Alexander relaxed slightly, and Magnus smiled at himself. “Yes, but not the brother you’re thinking. It was my little brother, Max. He’s twelve, and he was ten when we opened the shop.”

The answer surprised Magnus. “Really? I didn’t know you had another brother!”

“I have also a sister. It’s four of us. But I haven’t seen the other two in a while,” he said, bitterness in his voice. 

“Family drama. I definitely know something about that. Well, I used to, at least.”

Alec smiled at him and sipped again from his beer. This time he didn’t make a face. He probably was quick to adapt to a situation, Magnus liked this about him. “Yeah, _I used to_ is probably more accurate for me too.”

“There’s nothing better than to realise you don’t have toxic people around anymore,” Magnus said, happy. 

“What about realising you now have non-toxic people around?”

Magnus grinned. “You’re right, that is probably better.”

Magnus found out a lot of things about Alec he didn’t know. The fact that if he had to pick a color for their shop it would be black; the origin of name _Idris_ , that was an imaginary kingdom the siblings pretended to rule when playing when they were kids; how much the man loved his sister and little brother even if they never visited. And Magnus told him about Raphael, who was incredibly good so he kept him even if he rarely worked; his childhood friends Ragnor and Cat and his wonderful niece Madzie, the light of his life; everything he did at work and how he despised it. 

Alec had his cheeks flush for the beer he wasn’t used to drink, and – Magnus hoped – a bit of fluster for his blatant flirting, that today was particularly pushy. He didn’t seem to mind at all.

“...and that was when I almost got married with my best friend for a bet!” Magnus finished, delighted at the sight of Alec’s smile. “Dear Ragnor would never forgive me for that.”

“I’m glad you didn’t succeed, I’m not used to be the home wrecker!” Alec said, shaking his head still amused by the story. “God, I’m glad _I_ didn’t get married. I almost did a few years ago!”

Magnus tilted his head in interest. “Really? In Vegas like me? We should have had a double wedding!”

“No,” Alec sighed, he wasn’t sad, he looked quite confident still, but his expression slightly faltered. “With my beard girlfriend actually, Lidya. She was gorgeous, at least that’s what people say, I’m not the best to rate girls, you know. I was in law school at the time, and my parents wanted me to settle down with a girl, she was a colleague of mine and the only one in college who knew I was gay. Her parents wanted her to settle down as well, but her ex boyfriend just died and she wasn’t ready yet so we agreed to start fake dating to please them, but things went a little out of control, and we went all the way to the altar,” he explained, his eyes lost in past times, and Magnus was staring at him with wide eyes. “We were there, in that church, our families were there, and the priest came, and when we were just about to do it I just couldn’t bring myself to, you know?” Magnus did not know, because he was never in the closet, he couldn’t even imagine, but he nodded nonetheless. “So I came out literally in front of the altar and like, ran away, and everybody was shocked. And then my parents kicked me out.”

“They _what_?” 

“Yeah, I had to drop law school, and I had to find a job, so my sister helped me steal some money from my parents and I opened the shop. Jace stood with me of course, he was eighteen, just out of high school, and he followed me out of my parent’s house. All of my siblings wanted to, but Max was too young and couldn’t leave, and we didn’t want to leave him alone with my parents so Isabelle decided to stay with them for him. They don’t want her to see us, well, mostly me I think they could forgive Jace if he came back, so I haven’t seen her in a while.”

“Well, woah,” Magnus whispered, clearing his throat trying to process all the informations, “that’s a lot.”

Alec seemed to realise how much he actually said, because he tensed suddenly. “Sorry. It probably was a bit too much for a first date. But it doesn’t bother me now, well, not much.”

Magnus shook his head maybe with a little too much energy. “It’s not too much. I wanted to know you, that’s why I’m here. I’m glad you told me. I… I’m sorry if I was too pushy. Everything that happened… I understand why you want to go slow and I won’t try to force anything on you, I swear.”

“You aren’t pushy,” he said, then paused. “Well, you are,” he added, but his smile didn’t leave his lips, “but I like it. I think I needed it. I can’t hide forever, can I?”

“You can if it makes you feel better, but I don’t think that would be the case,” Magnus said, “and I’m glad you didn’t.”

“So, you heard my tragic backstory,” Alec whispered, and how come he heard it? Was he that close? When did it happen? Magnus didn’t want him to lean back, he liked him being close, so he put a hand on his knee. Everything around them stopped existing. “What’s yours?”

“Ah! My tragic backstory!” Magnus laughed, bitter. “Which one?”

Alec covered the hand Magnus had on his knee with his own. “The one you want to tell me, if there’s one.”

Magnus decided the one about his father being a greater demon, the one about his mother committing suicide because he had powers, and the one about the fact he could never be happy with someone else because he had a secret identity were a bit extra, so he settled with the crazy ex girlfriend one. 

“The last time I’ve been in a relationship, it didn’t end well,” he said, and felt Alec’s hand squeezing his. He squeezed back with a weak smile. “We’ve been together for three years, and I thought I loved her. Maybe I did. Yes, I definitely did,” he whispered, scared Alec could go away with it, he didn’t know if he was the jealous type, but the man didn’t even flinch. “I have loved her so much, I don’t know why. She had a really strong personality, and I used to think we were alike, in some ways. She was the life of the party, as you may say, and she was cheerful, and carefree, and she liked to travel like I do, we liked to explore new places, new food, new everything, we liked the idea that none of us wanted to settle down. We liked the idea to be free together.”

Alec nodded, letting him go on with the story.

“But I am also really busy, my business takes me a lot of time, and she didn’t like that. She thought I was wasting my time, and she used to get really mad when I had to go out without her, or when I ended a date early, like today, even when I had to spend the evening in the office. She hated it and she started to be harsh with me, in many ways. She always complained about me and what I did. She started to be jealous, she wanted to know where I was at all times, and she threw a tantrum every time I didn’t answer the phone, and that happened quite often, I can’t be on the phone at work. I felt guilty, and mad at myself, I felt like I was neglecting her and I hated myself for that. So one day I came back from work earlier than usual, it was meant to be an innocent surprise, and I found her with someone else in our bed. I haven’t seen her since. It was five years ago.”

Alexander blinked in silence for a few seconds, and Magnus was certain he had overstepped, then the man entangled their fingers on his leg. “I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve any of this.”

“It was years ago, I don’t mind. I haven’t been in a relationship since, I was scared. This is my first try, actually.”

“I’m glad I changed my mind,” Alec said suddenly, and for a brief moment his eyes glanced down at Magnus’ lips. “I really wanted to come.”

“Why did you? Change your mind, I mean.”

Alec’s eyes immediately looked away. Magnus regretted the question. He didn’t want Alec to look away, he loved his eyes, and he wanted Alec to see him, he wanted to drown in his stare like a man in the middle of a storm in the ocean. 

“I’ll be honest with you,” he said, and Magnus nodded. Honest was good. Honest was what he wanted. “My brother told me to accept, because he knew I wanted to, but I told him to mind his business; then a man I know told me to live a little, that I was wasting a good occasion, but he didn’t convince me either, I think I was scared, mostly of myself.”

“Then what happened?”

Alexander shrugged. “This friend of mine started flirting with me, I guess,” Magnus froze. He didn’t want to be jealous, and he wasn’t, but the idea of someone else hitting on him still made his stomach churn. He didn’t show it, it wouldn’t have been fair, he had flirted with someone else that weekend too. “I liked it. He’s nice. I flirted back. Then I, well,” he looked back at him and Magnus felt a bit better. He always felt a bit better when Alec was looking at him. “Then my brother told me to go home, that I was making a mistake. I felt annoyed at first, then I realised I was glad I didn’t stay over because the truth was I was just doing it because he reminded me of you.”

He waited for a response but Magnus give him none, so he went on. “He felt safer than you because, well, long story, but with him it could never be serious. But I didn’t want to be with him, I wanted to be with _you_ , so I finally thought about how stupid I was being because I was just trying to find excuses not to be with you and I was so gone I was looking for your substitutes, and all this time I could have just said yes. So today I did. Because I wanted to and it had became so obvious it was ridiculous, really.”

“I did it too, you know. When you told me ‘no’ the other day I met someone that reminded me of you and I thought I could give it a try but it wasn’t you, so I couldn’t bring myself to say anything,” he said, because he just realised that was exactly what happened, that was probably why he got so attached to Shadow the past days, why he wanted him to be safe, and why even if Alec had rejected him he still didn’t make a move, because it wasn’t him.

“Alexander, I-” he said, then he felt his necklace getting warmer, and warmer. 

_Fuck. No, please, not now._

At the same time, Alec tilted his head on the side like he was hearing something, then he touched his ear and hissed “don’t you dare.”

“What?” Magnus asked, trying to ignore the weight on his chest that was already too hot to bear. 

“Oh I was just thinking out loud. What were you saying?”

Magnus took his phone from his pocket and looked at it. “Oh, it’s only that... there’s an emergency at work and I... you know, I _am_ enjoying myself, please, believe me, I really am, this is not an attempt to get rid of you please, trust me, but I really have to go.”

He had always disliked demons, he fought them, but he never really _hated_ them deeply, like he did now. “Please, don’t think I’m ditching you.”

Alec let go of his hand and Magnus cursed himself. “It’s okay, go. I understand, really!” he said and he looked perhaps _too_ okay with it, like he was actually hoping for Magnus to go, but he didn’t have time to wonder why. There were demons to kill, and he didn’t want for Shadow and White Knight to handle this alone, there could be Claw in there, he didn’t want something to happen to them because he was busy going out.

“See you tomorrow Alexander, I’m really sorry,” he said, and quickly stood up.

Alec nodded, then he stood up himself. “Wait, Magnus?”

“Yeah?” he asked, fidgeting slightly because _he had to go, he had to, he had to, it was already late,_ but Alec grabbed his shirt, pulled him close and kissed him in front of everyone in the room.

And Magnus’ world stopped.

He needed only a moment to reciprocate with everything he could, his eyelids closing, drowning in the feeling of Alec’s lips on his, his hands on his chest, and he didn’t feel the burning necklace anymore, demons be damned. He let his hands go to Alec’s back, holding him, he felt him sigh in the kiss, and just when his bones were about about to melt, and his mind was a blank feeling of warm and fuzzy, he felt Alec pull away, and he couldn’t help but whine slightly and chase his lips for a little longer, leaning on him, following him like a magnet. 

When they both opened their eyes the look they shared was so full of surprise, fondness and relief they had to kiss again some more, just to feel the closeness between them.

They heard the barmaid clear her throat and they broke the kiss, Alec coughing a bit in embarrassment. “Sorry,” he whispered, looking down at his feet.

“You know what, I don’t really _have_ to go,” Magnus couldn’t help but say, because fuck them all, fuck the demons, the other supers, Robert Lightwood, the entire city, just let the it burn to the ground if he could stay with Alec longer, maybe the whole night, maybe they could go home together, maybe-

“I’m sorry,” Alec interrupted his train of thoughts, “I kinda have to, I have an emergency. My brother,” he said, and Magnus was so disappointed he didn’t even notice the fact Alec hadn’t even looked at his phone so there was no way he could be aware about any emergency his brother had.

“Ah, okay then,” he said, and he knew it was for the best, he really had to go, but he just let himself hate it for a bit.

“See you tomorrow, Magnus.”

“I’ll look forward to it,” he said, then he leaned in and brushed their lips briefly, because he had to do it one more time, if only a little, and then he ran outside, finally taking the necklace out, shining bright red in the darkness of the night. His glamour dropped and his cat eyes glowed in the darkness.

He was starting to look for an empty alley to summon his suit and mask, when he saw it in his mind again, replaying like he was looking on a screen. 

Alexander was looking at him, telling him his ten year old brother had picked the color _pink_ for their shop, and there it was.

The stare. The playful annoyed stare the little kid was giving the camera on the bench, the playful annoyed stare the eldest of the Lightwoods had in the picture with his sister. It was the same stare, the same as when Alec was talking about his siblings earlier, the same as every time he interacted with Jace.

Then the truth hit him like a brick wall.

Shadow saying they haven’t heard about the Lightwoods in years, that they hated him and not White Knight, that his brother would still be welcome if he wanted.

Alec’s _Jace stood with me, of course, he followed me out of my parents’ house_

Shadow’s _sure, he liked you, you are heterosexual and have low expectations of father figures._

Alec’s _I came out in front of everyone, then they kicked me out_.

Then that evening again.

_“I didn’t know you had another brother.”_

_“I’ve also a sister, it’s four of us.”_

The four Lightwood children, only two of them mentioned in the news the last few years.

It didn’t make sense, but it also made perfect sense.

Magnus touched his pendant, still alerting him of the presence of demons in the area, his lips still warm for the kiss, and whispered

“fuck.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today I have to take a train for more than one hour so I’ll probably post another chapter in the evening 🌈 (my evening, TZ +1)


	6. Facilis Descensus Averno (the descent into Hell is easy)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the descent into hell is easy, aka everything that can go bad goes bad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW blood and torture (briefly graphic)

As soon as Magnus left the bar Alec paid for both their drinks and ran out. “White Knight, this is Shadow, come in. Over,” he said, still breathless from the kiss, hoping for Jace to hear.

The answer was radio silence and Alec felt his blood turn cold.

“White Knight, do you copy?” he asked, running to the shop, where he had left his suit and bow after work.

_ Affirmative bro! Over. _

Alec sighed in relief as he struggled with his key, opening the door as fast as he could.

“Do not engage a fight until I’m here. Repeat, do  _ not  _ for any reason engage a fight until I’m here. Over.”

Just when Magnus was about to tell him he had to go, Jace had told him on his earphone that there was a demon attack in town and he was going to get there immediately.

He heard a loud demonic screech in his ear and grimaced.

“Jace, what are you-” 

_ Sorry bud, too late for that. Over. _

A crash.

“Wait for me! Don’t-”

_ See you there, Shadow. Out.  _

Then nothing.

“Fuck,” he cursed, because he was having a good time, and something good happened to him since probably ever, and they  _ kissed,  _ and now his brother was in the middle of a fight without backup and maybe Valentine Morgensten was going to be there and it was all his fault and he shouldn’t have gone out, not when Clary was busy and he couldn’t leave Jace with her – she always managed to make him  _ think  _ before he acted, something even Alec struggled to do. 

He got changed pretty quickly, tried to call Jace back on the radio, he didn’t answer.

“I’m gonna kill him,” he grunted, and he jumped out of the window on the street. 

He was mad at Jace because he explicitly asked him not to intervene if something happened while he was on his date. he would have gone absolutely feral if he hadn’t still been flustered for the recent turn of events. 

He sighed, ready to run at least fifty blocks, hoping Claw wasn’t going to show up before him or at all; without Jace he wasn’t possibly going to get there in time. Or so he thought.

Because, as soon as he turned a corner, there he was.

Druid was adjusting his shirt, like he too had just got changed. His red necklace was shining bright red, and his golden eyes were lighting up the night as usual, and Alec’s stomach, still full of butterflies because of the kiss, flipped hard. 

The man hadn’t noticed him yet, and he approached slowly, silent as a shadow, watching him summoning a portal with a serious expression on his face.

“Do you mind giving me a ride?” he asked as soon as he was close enough, and Druid yelped in surprise with a little jump, as the purple circle vanished in a puff. Alec laughed, the adrenaline of what just happened with Magnus and the worry that was starting to burn his insides made his mind fuzzy.

“What the hell!” Druid cursed, a hand on his chest, trying to steady his breath. “You can’t-, you have to stop-, you-” he babbled, and glared when Alec laughed some more.

“Sorry, I just can’t help it.”

Druid was looking at him with an unreadable expression, like he was studying, observing his face with a serious look that was unusual for him. “You do that to people in real life too? With your real name? And nobody had found out about you yet? You’ve got pretty dumb friends.”

Alec shrugged. “Nobody knows Shadow’s existence, how could my friends find out it’s me just because I scare the shit out of them from time to time?”

“If I knew you in real life I’d understand it’s you immediately,” Druid said.

“Thank God you don’t know me in real life, then, I guess.”

Druid looked like he was going to say something important, his breath itching for a moment, then it passed. “For the record,” he said, “you didn’t  _ scare the shit out  _ of me, you just caught me off guard.”

“If you say so,” Alec said, clearly amused.

“You’re being more insufferable than usual.”

“I just had a great time,” he said, and felt his cheeks go warmer, thanking the gods his face was hidden behind the mask.

“Ah!” he heard Druid say, in a tone he did not recognize. “Well, I’m glad to hear that. I was having a great time too. Actually, I’m a bit mad at you for that. It’s your fault if I had to leave early.”

“It’s my fault there’s been a demon attack in town?”

“No, of course not,” Druid sighed. “But if it weren’t for you, I would have passed this time.”

“Does that mean you’re not going to give me that ride?”

Druid’s lips curled up in a half smile. “I am absolutely giving you a ride. Come on, let’s get there. Is your brother coming, too?”

“He’s already there,” Alec said, trying to push back the worry deep down not to affect him.

“I thought you never parted ways.”

“Yeah, I thought it too,” he whispered, ignoring the guilt that was slowly starting to burn his stomach from the inside. “I was busy.” He said, then he heard something in his earphone that made his heart stop.

_ Alec, don’t come. It’s a trap.  _

“White Knight? What’s wrong?”

_ Do not come, repeat, do not come. There’s Valentine, he- _

The scream that followed will haunt Alec forever.

“No!” he yelled to the night, trying to reach out for his brother. “White Knight are you still there? Answer me, please! White Knight? Do you copy?  _ Damnit _ !”

“What happened?” Druid asked, his eyes shining with what looked like concern.

“Claw is there, he wants him, we have to go,  _ now _ .”

Druid nodded and started to move his hands again, summoning a portal. 

“Do you know where they are?” Alec asked, his voice on the verge of breaking.

Druid nodded. “I sense them,” he said, and the portal appeared in front of them.

“I’m coming with backup. Hold on. I’ve got you, okay?” Alec whispered, hoping Jace was still able to listen to what he was saying. 

He felt Druid’s hand grab his arm and nodded slightly, then they stepped in. 

When they came out, they were in front of one of the Lightwoods’ buildings, the one where Druid had acknowledged his presence for the first time a few nights before.

“Let’s go,” Alec whispered, now full on Shadow mode, his eyes cold and voice firm. 

The usually silent night in the industrial area, when everyone had left to get home and there was usually no one around, only empty offices and industries, was now filled with demonic screams. 

He suppressed a long series of curses thinking about the trouble Jace caught himself into and ran straight to the building’s entrance, slamming the door open, not bothering to check if Druid was following. He was going to get inside, Druid or not.

All the lights were switched off, the building in almost complete darkness, the only faint light was from the city lights that passed from the windows, and the occasional demonic flames that came from the demons’ eyes.

“I’m so done with this shit,” he hissed.

Moloch demons _._ Molochs everywhere.

One of them directed his empty eye sockets to Alec and suddenly flames erupted from them; he cursed and jumped to the side, barely fidgeting the fire. 

“Oh, no, I hate those,” he heard Druid sigh dramatically, Alec saw him move his arm and three demons were shoved to the wall with a loud thud. “You know, normally I love a dirty lair, but this one is just sloppy.”

He rolled his eyes. “Quiet, please. We don’t want Claw to know we’re here,” Alec said, taking his bow in hand and successfully hitting one in its neck. It fell on his back and turned to ashes, like any other demon once it died. 

“I don’t usually kill demons silently, don’t know about you,” Druid complained, but he promptly decided to choke the next one, closing his hand in a fist. 

“As soon as he understands we’re here he’s in our minds again. It’s not a good feeling, really,” Alec said, and when a moloch raised his claw on his friend, he quickly jumped in, shielding him and firing an arrow at it, in the middle of its forehead. It died instantly, vanishing in a puff of smoke and dust. 

“Why, thank you,” Druid said, setting one of their opponents on fire while they ran through the corridor, looking for the stairs. “This is  _ so _ not what I hoped my date would end up to,” he then added almost in a whisper, and Alec scoffed at that.

“Trust me, I really, really get the feeling,” Alec said as he threw his knife at one of the demons that landed in the middle of its chest. 

He turned just to see a flame that was going to engulf him, when a light blue shield rose in front of him, stopping it from burning him alive. “Well done,” he whispered, grateful.

“More like medium rare,” Druid winked, and they finally saw the stairs. 

“This is no joke,” Alec scolded him, rolling his eyes, trying to repress a smile.

“This face you make, you know,” Druid said suddenly. “It’s kind of your signature.”

The fondness in his voice was unlike him. “This face I make? Which face? I don’t make any face.”

“Never mind,” Druid said, “forget I said anything about it.”

They were watching each other’s back better than Alec thought they could. He usually had no problem fighting with Jace, but he had known Jace most of his life and they trained together, they were basically the same person when they fought, used to act as one. With Druid it was different. They didn’t have the same familiarity with one another and they didn’t fight like they read each other minds, but they shared mutual respect and trust, and that helped to make them a good team. 

Alec got lost in the fight, jumping, firing his arrows and cutting demon guts without thinking, knowing that to them – and probably to Druid, too – he was only a blurry figure in the darkness of the corridor.

_ Get out of my head!  _ Alec heard Jace with his enhanced hearing and looked up towards the ceiling.

“I heard them. Last floor,” he said with a frown. “He’s doing something to him. We have to be quick!”

“Roger that. I can portal us there.”

“No, I don’t want to show up just like that. We have to hit him before he sees us, like you did last time,” Alec said, knocking out on of the demons that got too close with a fist. 

_ He’s not your family. He’s not going to come. Come with me instead. _

“Sick bastard,” Alec hissed, and a moloch’s claw hit him on the shoulder. A stang of pain overwhelmed him for a moment, the second later the demon was hitting the wall full force. 

“You okay?” Druid asked, turning a bit to face him while holding the other molochs down with magic.

“Sorry, I got distracted.”

“Well, don’t be. We can’t afford that, it’s dangerous.”

_ Do you know why I chose today?  _ Valentine was telling Jace upstairs, _ Because he left you to mind his business. You just found out your real identity and he went out to have a bit of fun like it wasn’t that big of a deal anyway. He doesn’t care about you, not like I do. Not like  _ _ we _ _ do. Me and your brother. _

_ That thing is not my brother. Alec is my brother. Max is my brother. Not whatever the hell is that. _

“It’s my fault,” Alec whispered as they kept running on the stairs. “I shouldn’t have gone out today. Fuck. This is all my fault. I won’t go out anymore like, ever.”

“Now now, there is no need for such a drastic measure,” Druid said, making a bunch of demons fall off the stairs with one move. “We’re going to get that useless brother of yours and I’ll portal us out like last time. It’s no time for a guilt trip, this is not your fault.”

“If I can hear them, I’m sure White Knight can hear us. What if he makes a face and Claw understand there’s something off with him? What if he reads his mind and figures out we’re already here?”

_ I don’t want to force you, son. I love you. But if you don’t come here willingly I’ll have to, do you understand? _

_ Why do you want to waste so much time with this human?  _ A voice Alec didn’t know interrupted them. _ I am your son, you don’t need another. _

_ Don’t say such things, Jonathan is your brother, you have to get along. _

“No, he won’t. It’s all going to end well for us, okay? Each one of us. Listen, everything is going to be fine,” Druid said, obviously trying to keep his voice steady.

A moloch was coming down the stairs towards them and Alec shot him in the chest, clearing the way.

When they finally arrived at the last floor, Alec immediately found the door the voices were coming from. 

“Morgesten is not alone. I don't know who the other one is,” Alec whispered, when they were in front of the door. 

Druid was keeping the few demons left still with his powers. “Wait, I can give a little help,” he said, and with a snap of his fingers a portion of the door disappeared, revealing what was inside. “They can’t see us, don’t worry.”

He made the demons choke on their own ichor, then Alec finished other three that were coming towards them from the stairs. “I think we cleared the floor,” he whispered, and Druid nodded.

When they peeked inside, Alec’s breath itched. Jace was kneeling down, his wings full on display, red with blood; his sword was thrown to the side, all the flames gone; Alec couldn’t see his face, but judging by the way his shoulders were struggling to get up and down when he breathed, he was sure the boy wasn’t doing good at all. A freezing stab of guilt ripped his chest in half. 

“I got you. Don’t worry, I got you okay? Don’t listen to him,” he whispered, and even if Druid barely heard him, he knew his brother must have, with the closed door and everything.

Then there was Claw. Valentine Morgensten. His silver mask glowing in the faint light, his grin ever so smug, he stood tall and confident, looking at his brother like he was trying to get his stubborn little kid to bed for nap time. Alec wanted to kill him.

A few steps behind there was a boy Alec had never seen. He wasn’t too tall, more or less as tall as Jace was, and he had the same blonde hair and green brown eyes. He didn’t have a mask on, and was dressed with a pair of black sweatpants and a black t shirt. He wouldn’t have looked like a superhero at all, nor a supervillain, if it weren’t for the scary inhuman smile on his lips and for the huge black wings open on his back. 

“Okay, I open the door and the first thing you do is shoot the asshole between his eyes. I can handle the other blonde Chad. But Claw has to die first, if we give him a second to react we’re screwed. The fastest way to kill him is to shoot him in the head. Can you do that?” Druid asked, his voice tense.

“I can shoot anything.”

Druid opened the door and in one quick motion Alec raised his bow and shot. He was one hundred percent sure he was going to hit him just between his eyes, but the second before the arrow hit the spot on his forehead the winged man pushed Morgensten to the side and grabbed it with his bare hand. 

He looked at them with a frown and let the arrow fall on the floor with an annoyed gesture.

“What the-” Alec said, but Claw answered him before he could even answer the question. 

“Sebastian here has the same powers as dear Jonathan. He heard you the second you got inside, and I was reading his mind all along,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “You shouldn’t have come.”

“Stay away from my brother,” Alec hissed, notching another arrow.

“Do I have to kill him, father?” the young man named Sebastian asked, but before Claw could give an answer and Jace could manifest his disapproval, Sebastian started to scream. 

Druid was looking at him with a straight face, his hand raised, not breaking eye contact.

“Wonderful,” Claw commented, with an impressed look. The fact he was so amused by the screams of his own son made Alec feel sick. “I’m sorry, but I can’t let you do that.”

The second later Sebastian had stopped screaming, and Druid was tensing, wide eyed, holding his breath. He stumbled back and Alec held him, starting to panic.

“What are you doing to him? Stop!” he yelled.

Valentine smiled more. “Just distracting him with his worst memory, nothing serious.”

“Mom? Mom, what are you doing? Mom, can you hear me?” Druid cried, his voice broken, and Alec held him tighter. 

When he started blurting out full sentences in a language Alec couldn’t not only understand but even recognise, he started whispering “it’s not real, you hear me? You’re okay. What he’s making you see it’s- it isn’t real.”

“Stop fucking with them!” Jace said, and jumped towards Morgensten. He didn’t get to him, because Sebastian once again was shielding him with his body, and the two men crashed in the middle of the room and started to fight.

Alec cursed out loud this time, gently but quickly helping Druid to lean on the wall and running to help his brother, that was trying to get Sebastian down on the floor, benting his arm. Alec kicked his leg while Jace held him, and the boy finally fell with his back down. Alec took his bow and fired at Sebastian’s left wing pinning him to the floor, then the other.

In the blink of an eye Jace was right beside him, kicking the boy’s face, breaking his nose. “Asshole,” he hissed, finally holding him down with his boot on his chest.

Claw was still busy trying to manipulate Druid, his mind focused on who he thought was his most dangerous opponent. 

“You okay?” Alec asked, his breath itching for the run and the panic. 

“More than okay, now,” he said, giving his brother an half smile. 

“Don’t you ever ask me to stay away, got it?” he asked.

“I should have known better than that.”

“You should have.”

With a final kick to the face, Sebastian passed out, and Jace jumped to take his sword. “You don’t fuck with the Lightwoods,” he said, holding it against Claw.

Alec had turned his attention back to Druid, who was still leaning on the wall, his head in his hands, his eyes squeezed shut whining slightly. “Hey, hey, hey. Calm down, we’re going to go soon okay? It’s almost over” he said, glancing a brief look to Jace who was talking to Morgensten, still threatening him with his sword. He looked like he was handling the situation. “See? White Knight is making him stop so you’ll be free and we’ll go. It’s okay.” He took Druid’s hands in his and lowered them to see his face properly, at least the part not hidden behind the mask. He cupped his neck and looked at him, his eyes out of focus. “Listen to me. Don’t get lost. We’ll get out, trust me. We’ll get you out. I promise.”

A scream pierced the air and Alec turned to see Jace, who had his sword up, ready to hit his opponent, when he stopped, his sword mid air. Claw had switched his control to him to defend himself. That meant- 

Alec looked back at Druid, both his hand still on the man’s neck. He saw his eyes slowly going back to focus and, looking directly at him. 

“Alec?” Druid asked, in a whisper, blinking like he had just woken up.

“ _ What _ ?!” Alec replied, immediately letting go and taking a step back. “What did you just say?”

Druid shook his head and recollected himself. “Take your brother, let’s get out.  _ Now _ ,” he said, and Alec knew he was right, there was no time for this, so he jumped into action and grabbed Jace’s arm, the man still whining in pain. 

Sebastian had woken up and was pulling the arrows off him with a growl, trying to stand up. 

There was already a portal formed in front of Druid, and Alec pushed Jace through it with all the strength he had. 

“Let’s go!” he heard Druid yell as soon as Jace was out of harm the other side of the portal. Alec felt a ton of weight fall off his shoulders, then Druid jumped too, and he stepped in it, already halfway there. 

He was just sighing in relief when he heard “not if I can help it,” and suddenly a hand was pulling him back, the portal already closing.

“What?” Alec said, and he saw Druid glance back, and move his hands trying to re open it and then everything went black. 

When he opened his eyes again he knew where he was, perhaps too well. 

It was home. His parents’ home. He was in the basement, handcuffed to the wall, a dull pain in his head, his shoulders pulsing, and everything ached. 

“What the hell?” he groaned, blinking slowly, trying to focus more on his surroundings.

Yes, he was definitely in the Lightwoods’ basement, his bow and mask on the floor a few feet away, and he wasn’t alone.

“Finally,” the creepy dude that looked like a cheap emo version of Jace said. “I thought you were dead.”

“What happened?” he croaked, then flinched. His throat hurted. Talking hurted.

“Nothing much. I pulled you out of the portal, the druid tried to open it back while it was closing, it malfunctioned and collapsed with you still halfway there, you passed out and he wasn’t able to summon another one, I guess. We brought you here because Jonathan is coming back for you and we need him, even if I don’t understand why.”

“He’s better than you. You’re not going to take him down.”

“We already did it once, because you weren’t around, but you and your friend ruined it. Now with you out of the league there’s not much we cannot do,” he said. “Not that we’ll need it. He’s going to come willingly now that we have you.”

“You underestimate my brother.”

“He’s not your brother. He’s  _ my  _ brother. Trust me, I wish he wasn’t”

“Why… why are you down here with me?” Alec asked, even if he knew he wasn’t going to like the answer.

“I asked my father if I could have a bit of fun,” he said, happily showing him a knife he was holding. “He said to do _whatever_ , so I’m going to.”

A cold chill ran down Alec’s spine, but he tried not to show it. “I think we’re going to get along,” Sebastian said, approaching slowly.

The thing Alec knew next was that his arm had just been stabbed and he was screaming.

“This one is for my right wing,” Sebastian said, clearly amused with himself, then he turned his knife in the cut and Alec felt the pain grow stronger, everything in him was on fire. When he pulled the blade out of the arm Alec saw drops of his blood fall on the floor. It was black, that meant the blade was probably covered in ichor. That would make it worse. “And this one is for my left wing,” he went on, stabbing his other arm. The pain was so intense Alec felt hot tears coming to his eyes and all his breath going away. 

Sebastian kept playing with him, and he was starting to feel his mind doze off, probably because of blood loss and the ichor. He tried to focus on anything else to distract himself from the pain, but it was difficult, and just when he was starting to get used to what Sebastian was going, the man got more cruel. 

He tried to listen to the world outside of the basement to distract himself, he even heard Max’s and Isabelle’s voices a few times, and wished he could tell them to go away from that house, to run somewhere far, that two psychopaths were there and God knew what they would do to them simply because they wanted to amuse themselves. 

He heard his parents and Claw talking about the summoning of a greater demon, about a deal they made with him, something about the souls of New York City, but he couldn’t understand much of it. 

He thought about the fact Druid apparently knew his name, at least that’s what he heard when they were still at the building – it seemed ages before now thinking about it – and he thought about his brother, with the vain hope he wasn’t going to come for him. 

He thought about Jace, about the fact he failed him so many times, from the one when they were both kicked out of the house because of him, to the very last one that evening, when his selfish decision to go out put the both of them in danger.

_ Do you know why I chose today? Because he left you to mind his business. You just found out your real identity and he went out to have a bit of fun like that wasn’t a big of a deal. _

He squeezed his eyes shut as Sebastian was cutting a long line on his stomach, deep enough not to be a scratch but not enough to kill him.

He thought about his last wasted occasion. He was glad he got to have that first and last kiss, to have something to hold into in his last moments. He wondered what Jace would say to Magnus. A robbing gone wrong maybe, or a car accident, even a vase falling on his head from the fifth floor of some building – it was something that could definitely happen to him, he had the worst luck – and it was on this final thought, his brother lying to the man he definitely felt something for about his death, that he passed out again, with the reasonable suspect that he wasn’t going to wake up again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only two to go! We’re getting close to the end!


	7. The truth unveiled at last

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we learn part of the plan and Alec learns something else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this one is a bit longer than usual, hope it's not a bother!

Magnus had tried to get him back, he really had. When the portal had collapsed, he had tried his best to summon another, but it just didn’t come. Several long minutes had passed, and he still hadn’t been able to summon another portal to get back. They were starting to get crazy.

“I think I broke it,” he said, in shock.

“What does it mean _you think you broke it_? They have my brother!”

“It’s not my fault, it broke precisely because I tried to go back when it was closing! It’s not my fault, it’s not!” 

Magnus was starting to panic. White Knight was _definitely_ panicking. 

“I… I need to breath. I need to breath. Okay.” White Knight took the phone he had hidden in the costume and started to tap furiously on the screen.

“Who are you calling? Do you have backup? Tell them to come, we don’t have time! How many are them? How-”

The man shook his head, his golden mask shining under the white neon light of Druid’s HeadQuarters, his eyes full of dread, more than Magnus had ever seen.

“I’m not calling backup, I’m calling my girlfriend.”

“Your _girlfriend_ ? Shadow got caught and you are calling _your girlfriend_?” Magnus asked, he couldn’t believe he was really hearing this.

“She helps me calm down! Not my fault if you’re lonely!”

Magnus glared at him. “I’m not lonely! For the record I have a boyfriend,” he snapped, even if it wasn’t exactly true. Nobody had said anything about boyfriends or even having more dates, but White Knight didn’t have to know that. “But I can’t call him right now because… because…” before Magnus could turn up with some bullshit, White Knight’s partner answered the phone and he stopped listening.

Magnus looked at him, the way his shoulders relaxed when the girl had picked up the phone, the anxious tone in which he was vomiting a flood of words to her, the reassuring unintelligible sounds that came every time he stopped to breath.

He wished he could call someone too, in moments like this. He wouldn’t ever risk to put his friends’ lives in danger, and to know about him and what he did definitely could. 

He didn’t know if he’d have told Alec someday, if it didn’t turn out he was a super like him. He never told Camille and they had been together for long, but Alec had something different, so maybe he would have. 

But of course, Alec had something different because he was just like him. And that was the exact reason why he will never have the occasion to tell him, and to call him, – _I didn’t even ask for his number, what’s my problem?_ suddenly occurred to him – because he was a super and had just been taken and was probably-

 _Do not even try to think about it, Magnus Bane. Don’t you dare_ , he pleaded himself in his mind, shutting up everything that was bubbling up inside him.

Magnus closed his eyes and tried to relax. He had indulged in a moment of complete panic to get some stress off his nerves, but he had to focus now. Shadow – _Alec, that’s Alec,_ said a part of him that he immediately silenced for his own mental stability – was in danger and they had to find him.

He ran to the desk and opened his laptop. White Knight had stopped talking and was trying to contact someone on the radio, a bit more confident than earlier. Maybe the girlfriend thing really had been useful.

“What are you doing?” he asked, glancing a look at him while he typed the coordinates in the map.

“Checking something. What are _you_ doing?”

“We have someone in the Lightwoods’ staff. It’s unlikely she knows something, or she probably would have told me, but I’ll ask her to keep his guard up.”

 _Of course they have someone,_ Magnus thought, thinking back at the night when Shadow told him they had a mole that just deactivated the cameras, _it has to be the sister. The little girl in the picture. Isabelle._

Magnus focused back on his work, even if it was the last thing he wanted to do. He didn’t want to accept the fact that they were really trying to summon a greater demon; he didn’t even want to think about it, he was scared about who this greater demon was going to be, not to mention that any greater demon would have been a major problem anyway.

But even Alexander – _Shadow, call him Shadow, it’ll be easier this way –_ didn’t want to accept the fact that the Lightwoods were involved, but he finally had the nerve to seek for the truth anyway, surprising him when they broke in Lightwood’s office together even if he didn’t want to find what he knew they were going to. Because it was the right thing to do.

If Shadow could do the right thing even if the truth was going to be bad for him, then Magnus _had_ to do the same.

He had to make sure there was going to be a greater demon involved, even if he didn’t want to.

So Magnus wrote down in his laptop the coordinates of the first demonic attack the week before, when they still didn’t think it was a pattern, the one he prevented with White Knight; then the second one, the one when he met Shadow for the first time and discovered what was behind White Knight the whole time; the one when Valentine Morgensten was summoned from the death and he almost arrived too late to save the date; and finally the fourth and final one, tonight, the summoned molochs.

He regretted immediately what he just did, he remembered why all this time he couldn’t bring himself to check. 

The four attacks were perfectly symmetrical, forming an incomplete design on his screen. The first four points of a pentacle. It was there, on plain sight, on the map of the city. 

“They really are going to summon a greater demon,” he whispered, looking at White Knight with wide eyes. He gestured to come see and in an instant the man was beside him, looking at the map with him.

He touched the screen where the fifth and last attack had to be set, the last point to finally complete the biggest pentacle he had ever seen in his life.

“There. This is where they’re going to be next,” he said, worried. “It’s different from the other four, this is a residential area. It’s going to be a massacre. I have to call my friend in NYPD, I have to tell him.”

Magnus heard White Knight hold his breath. “I know the place. This is where I lived. This is the Lightwoods’ house,” he hissed.

White Knight cursed, then started to pace in the room. He touched his ear again, they always did when they communicated during missions. 

“Hey. Any news?”

He waited a few seconds. 

“Yes, I know it’s been a minute. Iz, listen…”

White Knight frowned. Magnus let his eyes linger on him, some bruises he probably got from the fight with Sebastian already started to heal, but he looked a mess. Broken. His eyes were lost. 

Magnus thought he probably wasn’t looking any better.

“I called because _I_ am the one who has news okay? Just listen for once!” White Knight almost screamed. “Sorry. Sorry, I shouldn’t have. I know you’re worried too. I’m just scared, we all are. Okay, so, you have to go away. They’re going to summon a greater demon in the house.”

Silence.

“Yes, Shadow is probably going to be brought there as well. No, I don’t want you to look for him, I’m coming, I’ll do that myself. I can’t afford to lose you too.”

White Knight sighed, “no, you can’t because it’s dangerous and because I want you to take him away. He’s too young to be involved. Shadow would have wanted that, you know. I won’t accept no as an answer, Iz.”

 _They’re talking about the little brother,_ Magnus thought, _he’s right, Shadow wouldn’t want him to be involved._

White Knight turned to face Druid and eyerolled dramatically, looking for support. Magnus shrugged and looked back at him with an understanding half smile.

“ _Fine_ , you’ll stay and you’ll help us get in, then you two are both leaving as fast as you can, okay? We’re coming,” he hang up and Magnus waited for him to say something.

“Our infiltrate is going to let us in. She’s waiting for us inside.”

“Okay, I’ll contact the friend of mine, he’s a sergeant; he probably won’t be able to do anything, he works in another district, but maybe he can alert someone he trusts, and at least the police will know what’s going on, the ones not under Lightwood’s influence.”

“Okay, be quick. We don’t have time.”

He called Luke, careful to avoid calling him by his name in front of White Knight. He was starting to trust him, but he couldn’t risk for Luke being exposed like this, he had a family, a daughter, nobody could know he passed informations with a super. Luke said he was going to call a bunch of friends he trusted, friends that weren’t corrupt, and he told Magnus to update him if anything was going to change. He couldn’t grant him the police was going to be involved, Robert was influent, but there was still hope.

“Okay pigeon, how are we going? My portals still aren’t working.”

White Knight smirked. “Do you like flying?”

Magnus found out he didn’t like flying at all. Not that he wouldn’t fly all the way to Australia to help Alec, anyway.

When they landed on the street, thirty excruciating minutes later, he felt his knees weak and his face was paler than usual.

“Don’t make a face,” White Knight whispered, “it’s much better than your portals.”

“I have to disagree,” Magnus hissed, clearing his throat. He preferred his feet on the ground.

White Knight wasn’t listening to his complaints, he was speaking on his earphone again, “we’re out here, do what you must.”

The manor in front of them looked huge. It was the biggest one in the neighborhood, or so it seemed. The house itself was half hidden behind trees, there was a flourished garden all around, behind a tall gate with two cameras directed to the entrance. 

It was dark and he couldn’t see well, but it all looked ridiculously fancy. He could definitely picture the two little children in the picture running in the garden, then all four of them a few years later, pretending to be in a magical kingdom called _Idris._

A few minutes passed, White Knight fidgeting nervously with his leg, when they heard a loud _clank_ and the gate started to open. Magnus moved to walk there but White Knight stopped him, and looked at the cameras without a word.

“Right,” Magnus whispered, and waited patiently.

He didn’t see them at first, but when he felt White Knight tense next to him he knew they had to be coming. 

After a few seconds, he spotted the first one. A kid that looked to be on his pre teens, with a hood carefully up to cover part of his face, was running down the path and finally jumping in White Knights arms, who hugged him, squeezing him and holding for dear life.

“Hey, hey, kid it’s okay.”

“Don’t make me go away! I want to help!” the little boy whined, he sounded so much like his brothers it hurted.

“I’m afraid you can’t buddy. You have to grow up a little first,” White Knight said, gently putting the kid back to the ground and smiling at him. He looked like another man, caring and compassionate. He looked more like _Jace_ and less like White Knight. He looked like the young man that warned him not to break his brother’s heart just before the date. Magnus asked himself how he didn’t get to know sooner.

“Let him breath, little one. Don’t overwhelm him,” a girl’s voice said, and Magnus looked back at the gates. 

There was a young woman, his body completely covered by a long black coat, his face hidden under a scarf from the nose and below. Magnus guessed that both this outfit and the kid’s hoodie were both because of him, to protect their identities. 

_Of course, they don’t know I know._

“Are you okay?” White Knight asked, and the glare the woman shot him with could have killed him on the spot.

“No, I’m not okay. They have him. I want to kill them. I am _tired_ to be left behind,” she scoffed.

“It’s going to be okay. I won’t let anything happen to him. I need you to bring this little kid to safety.”

“I am twelve now, I can take care of myself,” the kid complained. Magnus felt a sudden wave of affection for him.

“He’s not in his room, nor in the infirmary. They don’t let us go out of the second floor.”

“Of course he’s not in his room,” White Knight sighed, then “wait, you looked for him? I explicitly told you not to.”

“Of course I looked for him!” she said, outraged, “he’s my _brother_!”

Magnus smiled despite the situation they were in. He was starting to like the girl a lot.

“Take a cab and go away. _Now_. We’ll handle it on our own from here. Thanks for letting us in.”

“No,I’m not going anywhere. I want answers first.”

“And I’ll give them to you when everything will be over. But we don’t have time right now.”

The girl sighed and grabbed the kid’s shoulder. “I have hacked the security cameras and the alarms. There are guards every floor, I suggest you to get in from one of the first floor’s windows, or even better, the basement.”

“You’re the best. Thank you.”

“I know. And don’t thank me, I’m going to kill you later for the scare you have me. But first bring him back to me,” she said, then she turned to look at the boy, Max if Magnus remembered correctly. “Let’s go kid, we have to go before someone finds out we’re not around.”

“Goodbye and thank you!” Magnus said, when the two started walking away. 

“Families, am I right?” White Knight asked, with a groan.

“Only child, can’t relate,” Magnus said. “Let’s go save your brother.”

The whole Shadow accident at least had managed to make Jace bearable at Druid’s eyes. He was so used to the overconfident asshole superhero, or the annoying less attractive co owner he would have been delighted to see this emotional, protective side of him if he wasn’t so busy worrying over Shadow instead.

He had tried not to think what Claw and Sebastian could have done to him, the thought made him sick, and he pushed it out of his mind as soon as he started to contemplate the idea. He didn’t want to face the possibility unless it was necessary.

“No matter what you see, as soon as we get in don’t say a word. Sebastian can hear us, you know that.”

Magnus nodded briefly, and they decided to break in. White Knight glanced a last longing look to his family, the girl and kid walking away, and Magnus felt a nostalgic pain in his chest. He suppressed the urge to call Cat, to ask her how Madzie was, to text Ragnor with a bad pun just to earn a harsh reply, but he didn’t. He didn’t have time to long for his friends now. Shadow was in danger and they had to do something about it, they had to do it _now._

Once again, he had to push the worry to the back of his mind violently. They were going to find him soon, everything was going to be okay. They were going to find him _alive_. He would not accept any other option.

They walked fast and as silent as they could towards the manor, avoiding the path and walking through the woods in the garden. It was almost impossible to see, and Druid casted some sparkles that floated around them in silence, not too bright to not gain unwanted attention.

As they got closer, they exchanged a worried look. White Knight’s sister had said she had set off the alarm and the cameras, but they couldn’t be sure it all wasn’t set back on already. 

White Knight sighed and walked towards the building, looking around suspiciously. He approached one of the windows and looked inside. He frowned. 

_Guards,_ he mouthed without a sound, then he brought a finger to his lips to remind him to shut up. Magnus nodded again.

He lowered a bit and went to the next window. He peeked inside and sighed. Magnus kept looking at him, and when he turned he saw him shake his head again.

Magnus sighed in frustration. 

He saw the light in Jace’s eyes lit up as he saw another window, much lower than the other two, just beneath the level of the ground. It was dark in there, Magnus guessed it lead to some kind of basement. He watched as the boy kneeled down and tilted his head closer to the glass, as to listen to what was going on inside. 

When he finally grinned and gestured him to come close, Magnus felt a sense of relief start to wash over him.

 _Closed_ . White Knight mouthed to him as he approached, and Druid looked at him as to say _don’t worry._

The sparkles that surrounded them vanished, and they were left in the dark again. Magnus let his hand pass just a few inches away from the windows and let his energy flood out of him. They heard a faint snap. 

They exchanged a triumphant smile as White Knight gently opened the window, retracted his wings inside his back and jumped in with a smooth motion. Magnus followed by, he wasn’t trained like the brothers were, he didn’t need to with his magic, but he could be silent when he wanted to. 

The basement was dark full of unused bullshit, it was a large room with so much stuff there was barely place to walk. He looked for a way out, for some stairs that lead upstairs, but it was too dark to see more than a few feet away.

White Knight suddenly stopped dead on his heels and Magnus nearly ran into him. 

“What the hell?” he whispered as low as he could, and the other man gestured towards a dark corner of the room. 

He squeezed his eyes but he couldn’t see anything. He trusted White Knight’s enhanced senses, so he followed. He heard the sound of the boy’s breath hitch sharply, then he moved so fast Magnus lost his sight for a moment. He reappeared on the floor, breathing hard, clearly holding back something he couldn’t say out loud. 

He heard his hard breath and series of faint “No, no, no, no, please,” and held his breath.

What he heard next froze the blood in his veins.

“Jace?” the voice was dry and weak, but Magnus couldn’t mistake it for anyone else. 

Shadow’s mask had to be taken away, because the voice changer that usually came with Shadow wasn’t working. 

It was Alexander’s voice, _his man_ ’s voice. It was starting to become too real for his liking.

“Shhh, it’s okay.”

“Jace, we have to-”

“Shut up and no names, I got you okay?” 

Magnus didn’t know where he found the strength to step closer, but he did. The sight in front of him almost made his knees stop working.

“It’s okay, he knows. I heard him say my name earlier. He must have done some research,” Alec croaked, his face was half covered with blood and he had an eye shut, probably he couldn’t open it; Long drops of blood were running down his neck, soaking what was left of his suit; his shoulders were both bent in a weird angle, and all his body was covered in ugly cuts; his costume ripped on his legs, arms and stomach, showing flesh, blood and ichor. 

“You know who we are?” White Knight hissed, turning back looking up at him and _of course_ he had to be Grace. 

He couldn’t be sure before, not completely, he knew but he wasn’t certain, not like he had to be now.

He felt sick.

“Answer me, did you know? For how long?”

“I didn’t… I swear it’s just…” Magnus tried to explain himself, but Alec’s sudden whine distracted them from the confrontation.

Magnus found himself kneeling beside him with his brother, checking his injury with his magic.

“It’s the ichor. It’s in his system,” he said, trying not to panic. He could not afford panic.

“Yeah, it was in the knife,” Alec said, his voice breaking slightly on the end of the sentence. “Your brother is an asshole.”

“I’m fucking killing him,” Magnus heard Jace hiss, and he totally seconded the sentiment. “Also, he’s not my brother. You are my brother, Max is my brother. Stop saying that.”

 _Max._ The sound of his name brought Magnus back to the Hunter’s Moon again, Alec leaning on him, a small smile on his lips, his barely touched beer resting on the counter.

_It was my little brother, Max. He’s twelve._

_Really? I didn’t know you had another brother!”_

_I have also a sister. It’s four of us._

He saw the girl with the scarf on his face and the little guy with an hoodie again.

Magnus forced himself to stop thinking like that. He was going to talk about it with Alec later, if he really wanted to. Now they had to do something, and that something couldn’t start with Alexander still held down like that. Magnus touched one of the handcuffs that held Shadow’s – _Alec’s,_ he reminded himself once again against his will, _Alec is in danger, I have to do something, I have to do something I have to_ – bruised wrist and then the other. 

Alec’s relieved sigh when he finally moved his arms immediately followed by a pained face nearly broke his heart. He remembered him only a few hours prior, when he had looked at him with that sparkle in his eyes just after pulling him close and kissing him, and now his face was covered in blood. 

“When I breath my chest-” he started, then he flinched again. “Hurts. Like hell.”

“We’re bringing you out of here, now,” Magnus said, and White Knight – _Jace, Jess, Stace, Grace, the blonde asshole who served him his coffee in the morning, it was insane. It all felt more real now, too real, it was reality, not only speculation, it was... Stop Magnus, you have to focus_ – nodded. At least they were on the same page now.

“What? Absolutely not. You need me,” Alec complained, and Magnus got the sudden urge to kiss him silent and then scold him because _no way_ and

“No way,” said Jace. They _really_ were on the same page now, it seemed. “You’re no use like this.”

“Listen, they want to summon a greater demon tonight, you’re gonna need all the help you can get. They made a deal with her.”

“Her?” Magnus interrupted. “Not _him_?” 

“Yeah, it’s Lilith. The mother of demons. I heard them say that,” Alec said, and Magnus didn’t know if he should feel relieved because it wasn’t his father, or more worried instead. Lilith was the cruelest entity in the entire universe, he knew her well. “She made Claw come back, and in return they summon her and give her all the souls in New York City.”

“Why… why would they do that?” Jace asked, in shock.

“Because Sebastian is her son, he’s half demon. It was part of the deal, she had always wanted children.”

“Fuck. Am I… I am too… I…”

“No, you’re not. Only him. You’re only Valentine’s son, not Lilith’s, that’s what I heard.”

“How do we stop them?” 

“I don’t know. They didn’t say it,” Alec said.

“I do,” Magnus finally interrupted. “We have to stop them from painting the last pentacle. They’ll have to do it with angel blood, the only blood powerful enough to summon a greater demon. I don’t know if they already have it, I hope they don’t.”

“Great. Let’s go,” Alec said, offering Jace his hand. He helped him stand up, but had to support him while he did. Alexander leaned on his brother, clearly unable to stand up by himself. Jace passed an arm around his waist to keep him steady, pulling him close and glaring at him. 

Magnus had to use all his power to stay put, all he wanted was to hold him, support him, to make sure he was okay. He wanted him close too. But that would have been weird.

So, what he decided to say was “the only way you’re going is _out_ , Alexander. I won’t accept no as an answer.”

“I only need a few minutes, I heal fast. I already feel much better,” he said, but he didn’t look good in the slightest. He was pale, more than usual, and bruised, and he wasn’t steady on his feet. He had finally opened both his eyes, and they conveyed how much he was in pain even if didn’t want to admit it out loud. Magnus didn’t want to see him like that, but he couldn’t bring himself to look away. 

“ _This_ is better?” Jace asked, but he suddenly froze and looked at Magnus with wide eyes. “Wait, how did you call him?”

_Fuck._

“What kind of question is this?” he tried to deflect. “We don’t have time for this.”

“What are you talking about, Jace?” Alec asked, and Magnus felt grateful. 

“He just called you-”

All the lights in the room suddenly lit up. “Brother, finally! We thought you weren’t going to show up,” Sebastian was smiling, his head tilted to the side, his black wings raised. “That would be a shame, we really really need you,” he said, then paused for a moment, his eyes looking at Alec. “How come you haven’t died yet? And I thought I was being too harsh.”

“I’m hard to kill,” Alec said with a shrug. This time he didn’t even flinch for the pain, probably he really healed fast, or maybe he didn’t want to look weak in front of him.

_Yeah, it was in the knife. Your brother is an asshole._

It was his fault, this horrid boy’s fault, then.

Magnus’ magic had never reacted so quickly. Suddenly, Sebastian Morgensten was on fire. The boy tensed and Magnus was ready to claim victory, but after a moment of shock Sebastian looked at him with a grin. “Really? I am a demon. Demons don’t burn.”

“Let me be the judge on that,” Jace hissed, and the moment the flames vanished, he attacked him with his sword. 

Sebastian dodged the hit and suddenly they were fighting so fast Magnus wasn’t able to keep track of what was happening. Jace opened his wings as well and they were on the ceiling now, it was impossible to determine when one started and the other ended.

Alec stepped towards them and Magnus grabbed his injured arm, making him flinch at the touch. “Sorry. But you can’t help him, not like this.”

“You can’t tell me what-” Alexander started to complain, but they heard a sudden noise and ten of the guards rushed in the room, guns raised.

“Just great,” Magnus groaned, and Alec suddenly disappeared, stumbling in the back of the room, probably hiding.

 _Finally he’s showing some sense,_ he thought, as he made the guns vanish from the guards’ hands.

“Listen, I don’t want to hurt anyone. Why don’t you just let us do our thing without interfering?” 

Jace and Sebastian hit a wall as one, it didn’t look good for Jace but Magnus couldn’t be sure, they were moving too fast for him to understand.

The guard in the front, a man in his fifties that had the largest shoulders Magnus had ever seen and looked like the one in charge ordered “take them.”

Magnus sighed. Humans never learned.

The first two of them approached him, and he was just thinking about how to take them down without hurting them too much, when an arrow hit one on the shoulder.

“Sorry,” Alec was beside him again and Magnus flinched. He really healed fast, he managed to surprise him again. “I was looking for my bow.”

The guard that Alec didn’t hit was coming after them and Magnus shoved him to a wall. 

The others learned from their mistakes and decided to attack at once. 

Magnus threw a fireball at one, that hit him on the leg and he fell on his knees, unable to stand up. Alec shot two more of his arrows, landing on a man’s hip and knee. He didn’t want to kill them too, apparently. At least he kept his distance, firing his arrows avoiding hand to hand, probably not trusting his ability to fight with all his injuries. Magnus put one of them to sleep touching his arm as he got close, and he collapsed on the floor immediately. One was pinned to the wall by two of Alec’s arrows in his shoulders, and Magnus made two of them run on each other with a flow of energy, the two crashing together and passing out istantly. Magnus felt someone pull him by his suit, and a hand on his neck. 

He only had the time to tense and look at the man holding him that suddenly an arrow was sliding his throat. The hold on his neck lessened and the guard fell lifeless on the floor, in a pool of blood.

“Sorry, I… he was trying to kill you, I didn’t think.” Alec said, breathing hard. 

He was clearly horrified by what he just did, his eyes unfocused. Magnus feared he was going into shock. His injuries probably were making it worse. 

He approached him carefully. “Thank you,” he said. “He was trying to kill me, it’s okay.”

“You’re welcome,” he whispered, looking at the man on the floor.

Magnus was going to tell him, right in that moment, to have the chance to hug him and tell him everything was okay, and he only wanted for him to be safe, when White Knight’s scream pierced the air. 

Alec was moving before Magnus could even start thinking. 

The two were now on the floor, Sebastian was holding the sword just under Jace’s chin, lowering slowly to stab his throat. Alec was on him in a second, the sword falling out of his hands. They wrestled for a bit, rolling on the floor, but Alexander was slower than usual, and his injuries probably still ached a lot. Sebastian didn’t need much time to punch him on his temple and Alec’s head hit the floor full force. Magnus waited for him to move, to hit Sebastian back, to groan for the pain, to do anything, but he stayed completely still, eyes closed, on the floor. 

Sebastian was about to hit him again but Magnus’ magic erupted again out of control, holding him in place, his hand still raised. He felt a rush of adrenaline pass through him as he fought the Sebastian’s energy that was trying to keep moving.

“Now, White Knight!” Magnus yelled and Jace acted, taking back his sword from where it fell on the floor, holding it with both his hands and cutting the bastard’s throat with a smooth movement. 

Sebastian’s energy stopped fighting, finally gone for good, and Magnus released his hold.

Jace didn’t spare a single thought to him, kicking his body away without an inch of care, kneeling down beside his brother.

“Alec?” he asked calmly, visibly trying to keep himself together. “Alec are you… are you with us? Alec?” his voice broke on the last word. 

Magnus felt like the ground was just got rug out from under him. 

_It can’t be. It just can’t. I can’t have let it happen. I can’t. He can’t be… he can’t be…_

Then Alec squeezed his eyes with a groan. 

“Oh, thank God,” Jace whispered, collapsing on the floor next to his brother. 

“Is he dead?” Alec groaned. “Please Jace, tell me he’s dead.”

“Hell yeah he is, bud!” he said, a relieved smile on his face.

Alexander opened his eyes and let out a happy sigh. “Great,” he said, with a proud grin, then looked at Magnus. “We did it.”

And Magnus couldn’t hold himself back anymore. 

“Don’t you dare do something like that ever again, you scared me to death Alexander,” he whispered, then he took his mask off, dropping it on the floor. Jace and Alec looked at him in confusion, then recognition and shock. 

“Mag-” Alec started, but Magnus didn’t let him finish the question. He closed the space between them, fell on his knees, cupped the back of Alec’s neck and captured his lips in a bruising kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's only one chapter to go so I will probably post it today as well! Patience is not my best quality lol  
> Let me know what you think if you want✨


	8. Caltabellotta

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end  
> (?)

Alec didn’t hear the  _ I knew it!  _ of his brother. In all fairness, he didn’t hear much at all, despite his enhanced senses. 

His mind was too focused on doing the only pleasant thing that happened to him in the last few hours, days, years, probably ever. 

When Druid had dropped his mask Alec’s mind had taken a few moments to process what he was seeing, but when it did everything just  _ made sense  _ in the best possible way. 

Every coherent thought was quickly replaced by the weight of the other’s lips on his, and he knew Magnus kissed him he could nothing but surrender to it, making his thoughts melt and letting them flood away like a warm pleasant river out of his mind. 

It was simple as that: he thought he was going to die, and not only he didn’t, but Magnus was with him and was kissing him like it was the only thing keeping him sane.

He didn’t hear Jace’s proud _ The only three people who call you Alexander are Maryse, Robert and him, I knew as soon as I heard him _ either, too busy drowning in the feeling of Magnus’ hair under his fingers, of Magnus’ hands in the back of his neck.

He didn’t hear the insistent  _ Guys? Guys? We have a summoning to stop! Guys?  _ his brother was trying to convey, but he felt an annoyed groan coming from Magnus’ throat as they kissed and then they parted, and Magnus was glaring at his brother.

With his great displeasure now Alec could perfectly hear what Jace was saying. “Guys I get it, I really do, ‘make love not war’ and such bullshit but we really really-”

“Could you please shut the fuck up? We’re having a moment here,” Magnus said, clearly annoyed.

“No, I can’t shut the fuck up because  you’re having a moment ,” said Jace, that was now standing up, adjusting his white and golden costume with his left hand, holding his sword with the other. “They’re trying to summon Lilith, the mother of demons. All the souls in New York, remember?”

Alec felt irritated mostly because Jace was right. It didn’t happen often, usually Alec was the one who was right. He sighed. “Yeah, fair. Okay,” he muttered, then he looked up at Magnus, “but we’re talking about this later.”

“Oh, no,” he complained, “not a  _ we have to talk  _ speech already! We barely had our first date!”

Alec rolled his eyes as Magnus stood up, Jace giving him a hand to stand up himself, after kicking away Sebastian’s body like it was nothing. 

“I almost pity him,” Magnus said, his face unreadable.

“Well, I don’t,” said Jace. “He’s a monster. And he tortured Alec just for the sake of it.”

Magnus looked at him like someone just slapped him on the face. “I know! Of course, I didn’t mean-”

“He’s half demon,” Alec intervened, “what did you expect?” he felt a bit annoyed at Magnus, given what Sebastian did to him.

“That’s the problem,” Magnus whispered, “if the world's only gonna see a demon as shifty and untrustworthy, there's no point trying to be anything else. I don’t think it’s entirely his fault.”

“You’re overthinking it,” said Jace, “he’s Lilith’s son, he’s inherently evil.”

Magnus was still looking at the body on the floor. He didn’t reply.

“He wanted to kill Jace and tortured me for fun,” Alec said, “I don’t want to be sad for him.”

“Of course,” Magnus said. “Of course. I  _ wanted  _ to kill him. I’m not sad for him. I’m glad he’s dead.”

Alec smiled weakly. “At least I’m mostly recovered,” he added, and it was almost true. He did still feel a dull ache on his head and limbs, but the cuts looked better now, and he could stand up without help. He observed his skin through the cuts on the suit, he was way less pale than a few minutes ago.

“Yeah, and you’re going home until you’re  _ fully  _ recovered,” Jace said.

Alec he held his gaze with a furrowed brow and an half smile. “Sure, Jan,” he said, then he looked at Magnus. “Could you summon my mask? I don’t know where it is!”

With a snap of his fingers Magnus had his own mask in one hand and Alec’s in the other. Alec smiled at him and put his mask on his face with a satisfied grin.

“Really?” Jace asked in annoyance. “You gave him his mask back? You want him to  _ stay _ ?”

“I’d rather not have him leave our sight,” Magnus explained, and Alec was already halfway out of the room.

“Yeah, tell  _ him  _ that,” Jace complained, and they rushed to follow him.

“Let’s go stop this summoning,” Alec said, taking the stairs with his bow in hand and getting to the first floor. “I’ve heard them say it’s going to be on the roof.”

“Of course it is,” Magnus said, his voice hollow. “A greater demon needs space, and moonlight.”

Another guard appeared at the other end of the corridor. Alec lifted his bow but the man was violently shoved to the wall with a gesture of Magnus’ hand. 

“Quite practical,” Jace commented. 

“I know, right?” Magnus said proudly. 

They met other three guards on the way, but they were taken care of quickly. Alec and Jace were leading the way up to the roof, every new floor bringing back memories neither of them wanted to express out loud. Magnus looked like he understood something, and Alec felt the brush of an hand on his back for a brief moment. 

When they were finally on the last floor, a woman ran towards them, her face full of concern. Alec hadn’t seen her showing so many emotions in years.

“Wait!” she shouted, stopping in the middle of the corridor, trying to prevent them for going on the roof.

Jace raised his sword. “Stand back Maryse,” Jace said, “I don’t want to hurt you but I will if I’ll have to.”

“This has gone too far,” Alec said, looking at the woman who raised him with a cold face. “Let us go.”

“You don’t understand,” Maryse said, she sounded pleading. He was looking at Jace with wet eyes. “He’s going to use you to summon Lilith. He’s going to kill you for your blood.”

Alec almost didn’t have the time to think  _ of course she changed her mind because  _ _ Jace _ _ is in trouble,  _ because his brother was talking.

“My what? Speak,” he said, lowering his sword.

“That’s why he created you, that’s why yours and Sebastian’s powers complement each other. He was half demon, you were made with angel blood. That’s where your powers come from.”

“How do you know that?” Magnus asked, sounding colder than Alec has ever heard him. “He’s manipulative, all he does is to sell lies.”

“I know because we helped him, Robert and I. We helped him give his son powers, and in return he gave us a smaller dose so we could do the same with ours,” she said, as her gaze shifted on Alec. 

“You… did this to me on purpose? You let him play with me like a lab rat?” Alec asked, his voice raising.

“We wanted our boy to be perfect,” she said, and Alec believed her. All their lives his parents always asked him to be perfect, there was nothing they wanted more. It all made sense now.

“But it didn’t turn out so well, did it?” Alec spat, and Maryse stayed silent, looking down at his feet, her eyes full of guilt.

“Why did you keep me if you knew what I was?” Jace asked, his eyes full of rage. “If I was his and you knew it all along, why did you do it?”

“We bought five buildings in five parts of the city that formed a pentacle, and Valentine started a demonic cult in adoration of Lilith. Demonic summonings had a sudden growth in the city and the police officer Greymark killed him to stop him, just after Valentine had killed Sebastian, you were small children at the time. They both returned to hell, to Lilith, that was part of the deal. We took you with us to keep an eye on you, you had to be safe until the very last moment for the sacrifice. For tonight. We waited for Valentine and Sebastian to come back using those years to gain strength with Lilith in Edom’s circle of hell. Everything was going as planned, until… until you ran away.”

“Ran away? You  _ kicked me out _ !” Alec said, raising his voice, almost yelling.

“After what you did, what did you expect us to do?”

Alec didn’t answer. He wanted to say there were so many things they could do with it, like accept him, tell him it was okay, go back home all together like nothing happened, but he knew his parents so he said nothing. He was so mad he didn’t know if he was more likely to be this close to kill someone or start crying.

“Then what?” Jace asked, he didn’t look much better than Alec was.

“It broke us. We did all we did for our child to be the best version of himself and what we had left was… nothing. And we were afraid Jace was going to get hurt without us, so he wouldn’t be here today, and everything would have been pointless. But we couldn’t step back, Valentine would have waited for us to die and he would have made us regret our betrayal in hell. There was no way out, so when the time came, we helped him come back as planned. And we helped him find you.”

“You disgust me,” Alec hissed, and Maryse looked broken. “You raised him like a pig for slaughter. I thought you loved him like a son. I know you didn’t love me, but him… you really fooled me.”

“Why did you change your mind? Why are you here to stop me now?” Jace asked.

“Don’t you know? Because of the other thing we could not predict. As Alec said, we raised you. Before we could prevent it, we were already loving you. When today came, I realised I couldn’t do this. You’re my son. Please, don’t go.”

“She’s right,” Magnus said, surprising them. “You shouldn’t come with us. We can’t let him have you, that’s what he wants. Without you he won’t be able to summon Lilith, we can stop him.”

“No,” Jace said, “we can’t let him run away. He’ll find someone else. It will take time, but he’ll find a way to do it anyway. We have to stop this tonight. Alec’s injured and you can’t handle Claw alone. I’ll come. I won’t let him touch me, nobody is summoning Lilith, but I’ll come.”

“Druid, please,” Alec whispered, and when Magnus’ golden eyes met his, he immediately understood what he was asking.

“Goodnight Maryse,” Magnus said, and the woman fell on the floor. “I put her to sleep. Let’s go.”

When Jace kicked open the door that lead to the roof, Claw was looking at them with a confident smirk.

“Finally,” he said, raising his arms as if waiting for a hug. “I was starting to think you weren’t going to come!” 

There was a huge pentacle on the rooftop’s floor, painted bright white, shining with demonic magic and the reflection of the moonlight.

“Sorry to disappoint, but we’re not here to be of service. We just want to ruin your plans, no offense,” Jace said, standing confident facing his father. 

“None taken,” Claw said, his silver mask mirroring all their faces, wild, and tired, and focused. “If anything, because you won’t succeed.” 

Alec thought he had enough of his bullshit and went to raise his bow. One second after he only witnessed the thought of shooting him between his eyes, Valentine scoffed.

“Now now, no need to be so violent,” he said, and suddenly he felt like freezing claws clinging to his brain, and he wasn’t on the roof anymore. 

_ Lidya was standing there, gorgeous in her white dress. Alec was holding her hand in his, caressing it with his thumb.  _

_ She was smiling at him, with her warm reassuring smile of hers, always full of compassion and love.  _

_ Alec knew she loved him, and he loved her too. Only, not like people expected him to. _

_ He turned back to look at the waiting crowd behind them. His parents were sitting in the aisle, with proud smiles on their faces; Max looked a bit bored, staring at his feet with an unfocused gaze; Isabelle and Jace… Isabelle and Jace were looking at him too, and they were smiling, like their parents were, but it wasn’t the same kind of smile.  _

_ They looked sad, resigned, and for the first time in his life Alec understood they really saw through him, they really knew him, and suddenly he couldn’t do this anymore. He couldn’t do this to himself and to the people he loved, people who suffered watching him live his life in pain like this. _

_ “I’m sorry,” he said, squeezing Lidya’s hand and kissing it. “I can’t do this.” _

The vision blurred first and then vanished suddenly, and Alec flinched. Valentine was panting in a different spot on the rooftop, like he had just dodged something. Magnus’ hands were still on fire, so he guessed he had just thrown a fireball at him to stop him from playing with his mind.

“This is pointless. All of it. You all know how this is going to end,” Valentine said. “Why bother? Surrender to me and maybe I’ll let you live.”

“You’re right,” Alec heard Magnus say, “we all know how this is going to end. And I’m afraid you won’t like it in the slightest.”

“Never mind,” Valentine answered, “it’s not like Lilith will let you live once she found out what you did to her son. After Jonathan, you two will be the first to die.”

“The only person who’s gonna die tonight it’s you,” Jace said, and opening his wings launched himself towards him. 

Claw laughed, dodging him easily, reading his mind every time Jace before Jace could successfully land any of his hits. 

“Magnus, freeze him! Jace will finish him!” 

Magnus squeezed his eyes shut with a pained moan. “I can’t. Every time I think about blocking him he distracts me, I can’t think straight!” 

Alec grabbed his shoulder, worried, as he watched his brother fighting with Valentine. He couldn’t risk to fire an arrow, they were too fast, he could hurt Jace.

Suddenly, from the door they just came from, two police officers bursted on the rooftops, their gun raised, a man and a woman. Alec knew the man too well, dark skin, sharp cheekbones, warm eyes: it was none other than Luke Garroway, Clary’s adoptive father. The other one must have been his partner.

Right behind her, a girl with fiery red hair, a worried but determined look on her face, was crossing the rooftop in a fast pace, straight to where Jace and Valentine were fighting. 

For the first time since they first saw him, days ago, Valentine Morgensten looked genuinely unnerved. It lasted only a moment. 

Jace was looking at Clary too, like he had just seen the sun rise in the middle of the night just for him, like it was blinding but he wanted to look anyway. His moment of hesitation was enough. 

Claw pulled a knife out of his suit, grabbed his arm, and made a short but firm cut on the palm of his hand. 

Big, heavy droplets of blood fell on the floor and Alec stared like it was all happening in slow motion. 

The white light faintly glowing in the pentacle turned red. They heard a loud rumble, like a hundred thunders, or maybe an earthquake. 

“No! I can’t let it happen!” Magnus said, and ran towards it, falling on his knees in the middle of it, his hands raised to the sky like he was praying.

Alec looked at him, then at Jace. His brother had almost succeeded at pinning Valentine down, with the help of the cops and Clary, but the man was still resisting, his knife still in his hands. The woman Alec didn’t know had a long cut on her cheek, and Clary looked lost, like she was hypnotized, Jace was looking at her in horror. He looked back at Magnus, alone, in the middle of the pentacle, red smoke starting to surround him and made his choice.

He jumped in, coughing because of the smoke. The air smelled of sulfur. In one instant he was kneeling down next to Magnus, who had his eyes closed. 

“You can stop her?” he asked, shouting, as the rumble got louder.

“In normal conditions I could, but I’m tired and I used a lot of magic today. I don’t know,” Magnus answered, “I’ll do my best.”

“How?” 

Magnus opened one of his eyes, golden and beautiful, it was shining more than the moon and the red light of the summoning. “Because my father is a demon. My magic was born with hellfire. I’m like Sebastian. I’m the only one who can stop this.”

Alec understood why Magnus had felt so bad about Sebastian earlier, and felt guilty for what he and Jace had said.

_ He’s half demon. What did you expect?  _ He had asked earlier, and regret felt like a stab.

“You’re nothing like him,” said Alec, and he hoped Magnus was listening. He had both his eyes closed again, a frown on his face, he looked focused. The shape of a woman began to form in front of them. “How can I help you? What do you need? I’ll give it to you.”

“I need  _ you _ . Give me your hand. I need your strength.”

Alec took his hand and squeezed it, and suddenly he felt energy run all over him, and he started to feel weaker. “Take it, all of it if you have to. It’s yours.”

The shape of the woman became more blurred, and Alec started to find keeping his eyes open too hard, so he closed it. At least it meant it was working.

Then he heard her voice, speaking at them in their heads.  _ Magnus Bane, child of hell. Why are you doing this? _

It was melodic, and sweet; the smell of sulfur worsened. He felt Magnus’ hold on his hand tense, and he squeezed his hand again.

Magnus squeezed back.

“Lilith. What a displeasure,” he said bitterly.

_ I’ve heard you and the child of the angel killed my beloved son.  _

“In all fairness,” said Magnus, and Alec felt weaker again, all his strength fading away, “your _beloved son_ tried to kill us first.”

_ I’ve heard you’re not loyal to your father anymore. _

“I have never been loyal to him.”

_ That’s not what he’s been saying. _

“And since when we trust my father’s words?”

_ You can make it up to me. I’ll forgive you for killing my son, if you let me cross the bridge and enter this world. With the souls of the City I’ll be able to kill your father and you’ll have what you always wanted. We’ll both win. If you don’t he’s going to come and get you. You know that, he still wants you, he’s going to find a way. _

“No. It’s too high of a price. I can’t let you do this.”

Alec felt his mind fuzzy, and he had trouble understanding what Lilith and Magnus were saying. Magnus seemed to acknowledge something was wrong, probably because his energy was running out again, now that Alec’s was almost finished.

“Are you okay?” Magnus asked him, sensing his exhaustion through the bond. “I forgot you’re injured, I can’t keep doing this.”

_ Then don’t,  _ Lilith’s voice echoed in their minds, and when Alec looked at her she looked more real, he could distinctly see her eyes, and the black of her hair.  _ Don’t resist me and I’ll save both your lives, if that’s what you want. And your father will never come to claim you.  _

She was almost there. They couldn’t let it happen.

Alec held Magnus’ hand tighter. “No, don’t do what she says. It’s okay, I can bear this.”

“Not in this condition,” said Magnus, “you’re not strong enough.”

“But I am,” someone said behind them, and Alec didn’t have to look to see who had spoken.

“Robert,” Magnus said, “what are you doing?”

“Alec, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have allowed any of this. I’ll give you my strength. I’ll help.”

Magnus nodded and offered him his other hand, but Alec stopped him. Lilith was almost entirely tangible now. “Wait! It could be a trap. We can’t trust him. Why would he change his mind now, after all this time?”

“Because now I understand what’s important to me,” the man said “You’re my son.”

“That’s not what you said last time I saw you.”

There wasn’t much that Robert could say to that, so he chose the most obvious reply. “I’m sorry.”

“If you think that’s enough to forgive you-”

“I’m not here for forgiveness. I’m here to help.”

“ _ Alexander _ ,” Magnus pleaded and Alec understood he was waiting for his permission. His own life and so many others were at stake but he wasn’t going to accept Robert’s hand if Alec didn’t want him to. That moved him in a way he wasn’t able to explain.

“Okay” he whispered, and Magnus took Robert’s hand, and the red in the pentacle shined brighter. 

Whit the help of Robert’s strength, Magnus focused on his task again. Lilith’s form slowly blurred, and the smoke started to clear up.

_ No! _

Lilith’s scream pierced their mind and it echoed for several seconds, until Magnus forced his magic to close the passage and suddenly the rumble stopped and the night was silent again.

Alec felt Magnus’ hold weaken as he leaned on him, and he let him rest on his chest, their hands still linked. 

“Are you okay?” he asked, concerned.

Magnus looked up at him, his eyes now back to the deep brown he was familiar with, probably because his magic had run out. His stare was so full of love and gratefulness Alec wanted to turn back for a moment to make sure it was really directed to him, but he didn’t want to look away from Magnus, so he didn’t.

“I am now, more than okay,” he whispered, and Alec couldn’t but smile affectionately at him. 

Robert cleared his throat uncomfortably and they ignored him. 

Once the thought they were all safe and Magnus was still leaning on him in his arms, tired but unharmed, had settled in, Alec let himself look for the others. The team work apparently had been the right choice. Clary had Jace’s sword still in Valentine’s stomach, his blood all over the place in the roof’s floor. Luke was at a loss of words, looking at his daughter, and the other officer was scribbling papers – probably writing a report.

Jace looked tired but perfectly fine, he was staring at his girlfriend like the fact she had just slaughtered the bad guy with a flaming sword was the biggest turn on ever. Knowing Jace it probably was.

“How did they know we were here?” Alec asked, mostly to himself.

“I called them,” Magnus answered. “Lucian is my friend at NYPD. Lucian Greymark, the man who killed Claw the first time.”

“I thought his name was Luke Garroway.”

“He changed his name after killing Valentine, he didn’t want to be associated with the act,” Magnus explained calmly. “How do you know him?”

Alec shrugged. “He’s Clary’s father, of course I know him.”

“You know biscuit? That girl is amazing, how do you-” Magnus started, but there was no need to finish the question because Clary was dropping the sword on the floor, turning back and jumping in Jace’s arms, kissing him.

“Oh. So  _ that _ ’s Grace’s girlfriend. Well, it does explain something.”

Alec smiled, holding Magnus tighter. “Yes, she’s the unlucky one.”

The night was slowly turning into day, the sky getting clearer, the city starting to wake up and set into motion. The eastern part of the horizon was now tinted a deep turquoise, the west still pitch black.

Jace took Clary in his arms and jumped off the roof, flying in the direction of the disappearing night. The officer they didn’t know, a woman named Ollie Wilson, came to put Robert under arrest, and Alec forced himself to look away while she brought him down.

Luke approached them at last. “Are you guys okay?” he asked, his paternal expression of concern that never left him was now at its best.

“We’re great actually,” Magnus said, stirring in Alec’s embrace. “In fact, I think I’ll take a nap right here.”

“My colleagues are coming, I’m sure you don’t want to be interrogated the whole day after a night like this,” he said patiently, then he looked at Alec. “And you need a doctor.”

“I feel just fine,” Alec said, “but Luke is right. We have to leave, I don’t want to talk with the police, not now.”

“And I can’t even portal us away,” Magnus groaned.

“What do you mean you _can’t_?”

Magnus rolled his eyes. “Last time I used a portal Sebastian took you, I tried to open one right back while the first was still closing and I haven’t been able to summon one since.”

“Is that… possible? That you now just can’t do it?”

“I don’t know. I think they’re coming back in a few days, that I just need some rest, but who knows? It’s never happened before.”

“Can you stand up on your own? Or do I have to carry you?”

Magnus smirked. “As much as it would be  _ extremely  _ entertaining, I’m pretty sure I’m recovered enough to stand up, thank you.”

“I suggest you to be quick and to go out from the backdoor. They're almost there.” 

“Thank you,” Alec said, finally letting go of Magnus and helping him to stand up, standing up himself. “I know the way.”

While Alec was leading Magnus downstairs, he started to hear the sirens. “I hear them, they’re coming,” he said, fastenings his pace. Magnus following blindly.

When they arrived to the first floor, Alec didn’t turn towards the entrance and got in the kitchen, another stab of memories in the stomach, that pushed in the back of his mind violently. 

He opened a small door next to the fridge and they finally were outside. 

“We’re going to have everyone’s attention, dressed like that,” he complained, looking down at himself. They could have dropped the masks, but their ripped costumes and bloody appearances would have given away who they were at first sight.

“I can fix it,” Magnus said, and with a snap of his fingers turned his clothes in a grey tank top, grey running shorts and a pair of runners. 

Alec looked up at him and noticed he was dressed the same way, only in brighter colours. 

All the blood and dust had disappeared, he only had the fresh scars Sebastian caused him, but thanks to his fast healing they already looked days old.

“Magnus, you almost ran out of magic earlier, you’re can’t just summon new clothes for us like that.”

The man shrugged. “We won’t be suspicious like this, the city is full of morning runners, we’ll blend in just fine” he said, then smirked wider. “Besides, I always wanted to dress you up like this.”

Alec felt his cheeks heat up. “Oh, shut up,” he hissed, looking away.

“You’re cute when you’re flustered,” Magnus said, cupping his chin to make him look back at him.

“Don’t hide them. I like when they’re real. They make your face glow,” Alec admitted in a whisper.

Magnus furrowed his brows in confusion. “What?”

“Your eyes. Your real eyes, I don’t want you to hide them. They’re beautiful.”

Magnus’ expression tensed. “How could you say something like that now that you know what I am? You said-”

“I know what I said. I was wrong, and angry. You’re nothing like Sebastian, I trust you. You don’t have anything to prove to me. I know your worth.”

“Really? Are you sure about that?” Magnus asked, and Alec decided the best way to answer his question was to kiss him, so he did.

He took Magnus’ waist and brought him closer, and felt his muscles tense suddenly and then relax in the kiss. He felt Magnus bite his lower lip and he gasped slightly, letting him in. For the first time they deepened the kiss, exploring each other. Alec felt a stab of electricity and Magnus groaned. He felt Magnus’ hands linger from his chin all the way to his neck, to his shoulders, caressing him and steading him, and when he felt too hot to think straight and all his coherent thoughts were far gone they had to part to breath. 

“So,” Alec said, panting, his lips on Magnus ear, still holding him close. “Do you think we should talk?”

He heard the cars parking in the path in front of the gate and thanked Luke for the advice. They were behind the house, safely hidden thanks to the trees.

“Talk about what? The fact we have been flirting with each other in both our real selves and our secret identities the whole time without noticing?”

“Yeah, that. Everything. It’s been a lot.”

Magnus parted slightly from the hug to look at him. “We’ll talk,  _ later _ . We’re going to have breakfast first, _then_ we’ll see a nurse friend of mine that will patch you up, _then_ we’ll go at my place and we’ll sleep for ten hours straight in my bed, and just _then_ we’ll talk.”

“Do you want me to sleep with you already?” Alec asked, teasing. 

“You have no idea how much I want that,” Magnus said with a smile, and then he was laughing, and Alec was laughing too, and for a long, wild, crazy, unforgettable moment, everything was just as he wanted it to be. 

They were safe.

That was everything that counted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About the title:
> 
> The Peace of Caltabellotta, signed on 31 August 1302, was the last of a series of treaties designed to end the conflict between the Houses of Anjou and Barcelona for ascendancy in the old Kingdom of Sicily.   
> The peace divided the Kingdom of Sicily into an island portion (Sicily) and a peninsular portion (the south of Italy).   
> However, the treaties didn't lead to peace because the parts didn’t respect the accords and the Crown of Aragon never left Sicily. There were a few years of uneasy stability and the war raged again in 1313, as Frederik claimed his position as king and several more years of war followed, making the signed peace factually useless, if not for the two armies to recover from the losses and regain full force.   
> The so called War of the Sicilian Vespers ended in 1372, seventy years later the sign of the Accords.
> 
> As the title and the story suggest, the city is not in danger anymore, Valentine is dead and everything's well, but there is still space for something to go bad. Will Asmodeus come back to claim his son? How will the City deal with the mayor under arrest? Magnus and Alec are really going to have The Talk™?  
> I've left the door open for a possible sequel, I am a bit busy right now, but I'd like to do that. What do you think about it?
> 
> Now that the story is finished feel free to tell me what you think about it, what you liked, what you didn't like, all of it if you want 🌈  
> Stay safe everyone and thanks for reading, ily ❤️


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